Shillong,Oct 7: Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Ramdas Athawale today visited Shillong and reviewed the schemes of Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India and its implementation in the state with the senior officials of the Government of Meghalaya. The minister said that his visit to the state corresponds to the instruction of the Prime Minister of India who has instructed his ministers to visit the Northeast so that they can provide all possible assistance to the people from their respective ministries.
The minister in details discussed with the officials of the Department of Social Welfare and other departments about the schemes provided by the government for the welfare of the ST, SC population and for the disabled people of the state. Briefing the media the minister said that there are 44,317 nos. of disabled people in the state whereas as per the 2011 census the number of disabled people in the country is 2,68,00,557. The minister expressed his concern over the fact that in the state there is no government school for the disabled students, and that the state have only few schools run by NGOs for disabled students. He informed the media that he will speak with the state authorities for establishing schools for such students and that his ministry will provide all possible help in this regard. He further informed that his ministry, in is commitment for the welfare of the disabled people, has increased the reservation in central government, state government and semi government services for the disabled people to 4 per cent. The minister expressed his concern in this regard over the fact that, as per the data provided by the government officials, only 75 numbers of disabled people are engaged as employees in the state government.
He mentioned the scheme of the government, Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan or the accessible India Campaign which is set to serve the differently-able community of the country. He informed the media that during the last three years around 550 camps were held across the country where 7 lakh 50 thousands differently-able people got benefits from the schemes of his ministry.
The schemes of the government of India, the minister said, have always been directed towards the welfare of all the people of the country including the ST and SC population. Mentioning the instances where various communities of the country are demanding SC status from the government, the minister said that the government has always been sympathetic to all these demands. He also added that the parliament should work on the possibilities of enacting an Act where the communities or individuals, who are not from any backward caste or community but are economically backward, get the benefits of reservation in respect of education and employment. He, however, also added that in this process the government take care that the reservations quota of SCs, STs and OBCs are not affected.
The minister said that his ministry is working for providing opportunities and facilities for the disabled peoples so as to create an atmosphere which will guarantee them equal opportunities. This can ensure the protection of their rights and enabling their full participation in the society, he added. Some of the schemes are like assistance to disabled persons by providing them with aids and appliances, and pensions for the disables. He mentioned that state of Meghalaya has given pensions to 11695 numbers of disabled persons at Rs 500 per month. The minister, however, expressed his satisfaction that there is no case of atrocity against the SCs, unlike other states.
The minister opined that every government should sincerely put in effort for the enrichment of life of the disabled people and that every state should come forward with innovative schemes for the disabled people. The minister applauded the recent Act of the Government of Assam which makes it mandatory for government employees to look after their aging parents and needy siblings, failing which they will lose 10 per cent of their monthly salary. The amount deducted from their salary will be given to their parents and siblings so they can support themselves, he added.
The minister concluded by assuring that his ministry is always committed for the welfare of the SCs, STs, disabled and old-aged peoples and that the state government should come forward and submit proposals which his ministry can sanction from the many available schemes. (PIB)
