Feature
Volume 4 Issue 13 - July 01, 2006
Planning process for the Disabled – Commitment or Sham?
As
the Planning Commission sets in motion the planning process for the Eleventh
Five Year Plan (2007-2012), the disability sector has serious concerns regarding
the very nature of this exercise. Chitra
S. Shankar voices these concerns, which need to be looked into and rectified
at the earliest in order to ensure the proper implementation of the plans
and legislations for the welfare of disabled people in
In
the context of preparation of the Eleventh Five Year Plan, the Planning Commission
has already constituted a Steering Committee on the Social Welfare and Other
Special Groups under the Chairmanship of Dr. Bhalchandra Mungekar, member
in-charge of the sector.
A
Working Group on Empowering the Disabled has also been set up under the
Chairmanship of Dr. G. N. Karna. The Group includes representatives from various
government departments and from the disability sector. But the very composition
of this Working Group has raised eyebrows. Representatives from the disability
sector include Dr. Uma Tuli, Saraswati Naraynaswamy, Dr. Bhushan Punani, Dr.
Gautam Gawali, and Sanjay Deshmukh.
There are some serious concerns regarding the manner in which representation has
been drawn from the disability sector. Not a single rights-based N.G.O. from
the sector has been included. Moreover, distinguished disabled people and
genuine disability representatives have been ignored.
Amongst people with visual disabilities,
we have veterans like Padmashree Rajendra Vyas, Subhash
A. Datrange, C. D. Tamboli, Dr. Ashwini Agarwal, J.L. Kaul, and many others.
When there is such a rich mass, the choice of a non-disabled professional
such as Bhushan Punani is certainly disappointing. The deaf movement, for
that matter, has experienced people including Onkar Sharma, D.S. Chauhan,
Jayashree Raveendran, and so on. This being the case, one wonders about the
logic behind the choice of Saraswati Narayanaswamy, who runs a charity based
N.G.O. and is obviously not deaf herself. Nor does she belong to the vibrant
deaf movement.
In a nutshell, the very composition
of the Working Group leaves much to be desired, and it only reflects the lack
of thought process and seriousness on the part of the Planning Commission.
Already, the nodal ministry in charge of implementing the programmes - the
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (M.S.J.E.) is failing on all
fronts. Now the Planning Commission seems to be following suit. With the present
constitution, one has serious doubts regarding the capacity of the Working
Group, and ultimately, the output in the shape of the Chapter on Disability
in the Eleventh Five Year Plan, which in turn will directly impact the lives
of millions of disabled people.
Fearing the consequences of this
thoughtless act as it would affect the entire planning process, National Centre
for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (N.C.P.E.D.P.) wrote to the
Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission. Unfortunately, there has been no reply
till date.
Another important concern is that disability is not represented in a cross-sectoral manner, which Planning Commission itself had advocated in the Tenth Five Year Plan! For example, the Steering Committee on Communication & Information, Steering Committee on Agriculture & Allied Sectors, Steering Committee on Sports & Youth Affairs, Steering Committee on Arts & Culture, and most importantly on the Steering Committee on Secondary, Higher & Technical Education, etc. do not have any representation at all from the disability sector. As it is, the very serious issue of disability is being diluted under the larger umbrella of Social Welfare, where due to vote bank compulsions, the greater thrust is on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, etc. If Planning Commission genuinely believed that disability is a cross-cutting issue, then isnt it logical that it should have been represented in all the above mentioned Steering Committees?
A look at the Mid-Term Review Report
of the Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007) will further explain the apprehensiveness
of the disability sector regarding the so-called Planning and Implementation,
and how both, the Planning Commission and M.S.J.E. have totally failed the
hopes and aspirations of millions of disabled Indians.
The total outlay for the disability
sector under the Tenth Five Year Plan was Rs. 1465.40 crores. In the 2002-2005
period, a mere 456.65 crores accounting for only 31.16 per cent of the agreed
outlay was spent.
While the
Government spent its full share on distributing sub-standard aids and appliances,
and in promoting supplicant N.G.O.s run by non disabled do-gooders, it totally
neglected the funding of the National Institutes where some good research
could have taken place. Out of an allocation of Rs. 210.80 crore, a meagre
Rs. 30.21 crore (14.3 per cent) was spent.
It practically
brought to a halt the functioning of National Handicapped Finance & Development
Corporation (N.H.F.D.C.), where crores worth of loans could have been given
to genuine and needy disabled people. While the agreed outlay was Rs. 97.50
crores, the expenditure is only 10.79 per cent! Worst of all, where legal
literacy and legal aid could have been promoted for the better implementation
of the Disability Act, a mere Rs. 15.92 crores has been spent against the
total outlay of Rs. 154 crores!!
The Tenth Plan had advocated the
introduction of a Component Plan for the Disabled in the budget of all concerned
Ministries/Departments in order to ensure a regular flow of funds for schemes/programmes
for the empowerment of disabled people. However, this was not done and the
M.S.J.E., for reasons beyond comprehension, expressed its difficulty in
implementing this suggestion! It never explained as to what that difficulty
was, when crores and crores worth of resources were unutilised and of course,
the Planning Commission also failed in taking corrective measures.
The
Working Group for the Tenth Five Year Plan on Empowering the Disabled had
a stalwart like Lal Advani as Chairman. There was a clear vision and direction
for the Tenth Five Year Plan.
The
strategy adopted in the Ninth and Tenth Plans with regard to disabled people
was their empowerment and the overall objective of the Tenth Plan was to
move towards an inclusive society providing Rehabilitation for All. Thus,
the Working Group strongly recommended that each Ministry/Department should
earmark 5 per cent of their budget for activities concerned with Disability,
which could be achieved by strengthening existing programmes, as well as launching
new and innovative ones, to ensure that by the end of the Tenth Five Year
Plan period, the Government would be able to reach the remotest corners of
the country. It also stated that the Tenth Plan must make a clear and categorical
departure from the earlier approaches, which in reality have generally remained
a charity and welfare approach.
The Working Group further stressed
that the endeavour of the Tenth Plan should be of affirmative action to ensure
education, vocational training, skill development and employment for disabled
people as well as the development of human resources, in order to help them
secure equal opportunities with non disabled people. It must usher in an era
of accessibility physical, psychological, social and cultural, so that disabled
people become active and productive partners in the process of development.
Our built environment, both inside and outside, must incorporate barrier free
features to make them easily accessible to persons with any disability.
Among other specific recommendations
were that at least 5 per cent accommodation should be reserved in hostels
for disabled people pursuing higher studies, getting vocational training etc.
Accessible hostels should be set up in major urban centres for girls and women
with disabilities so that they can pursue higher and professional education.
Most importantly, the Working Group
had strongly recommended that the Planning Commission should set up a Disability
Division to undertake the massive task of monitoring and evaluating the programmes
developed by every Ministry/Department.
That all these recommendations have gone unheeded is clear from the poor performance of the Government in all areas of implementation of the Tenth Plan provisions as well as the Disability Act. This is also reflected in the Mid-Term Review Report. And yet, that the Planning Commission has shown poor judgment in constituting the crucial Working Group on Empowering the Disabled for the Eleventh Five Year Plan has come as a shock to the disability sector.
(External Website)
DNIS is produced and managed by:
National Centre for
Promotion of Employment
for Disabled People
Screening Guidelines to be followed by CISF Security Staff for Passengers with Disabilities at Indian Airports
Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill
Mental Health Care Bill
CRPD Monitoring Report
National Policy
20 Stories of Change(book)
Nominations open for NCPEDP- Mphasis Universal Design Awards 2016.
- List of Awardees 2015 :NCPEDP MPHASIS Universal Design Awards (2.7 MB)
- List of Awardees 2014 :NCPEDP MPHASIS Universal Design Awards (1 MB)
- List of Awardees 2013 :NCPEDP MPHASIS Universal Design Awards (1.44 MB)
- List of Awardees 2012 :NCPEDP MPHASIS Universal Design Awards (804 KB)
- List of Awardees 2011 :NCPEDP MPHASIS Universal Design Awards (864 KB)
- List of Awardees 2010 :NCPEDP MPHASIS Universal Design Awards (623 KB)
Press Release
SHELL HELEN KELLER AWARDS
NCPEDP-Shell Helen Keller Awardees 2013
Features
- Planning process for the Disabled – Commitment or Sham?
Interview
News
- M.S.J.E. comes up with its own proposal for amendments to the Disability Act!
- Government to rehabilitate polio victims; Rs. 1,039 crore earmarked for polio eradication
- Grant provisional admission to disabled student: Delhi High Court tells D.U.
- National Institute for Persons with Multiple Disabilities in Tamil Nadu
- Delhi Government increases ex-gratia payment for war disabled soldiers
- Loopholes in the proposed Delhi Building Bylaws
- 200 high-capacity buses to hit Delhi roads in next six months
- Specially designed bus shelters in the offing
- New devices for visually impaired launched
- ‘Disabled’ fans ejected from stadium
Additional Links
Disability News and Information Service is produced and managed by:
National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (External Website)
C-43, South Extension, Part
- II,
New Delhi
110 049, India
Tel: 91-11-26265647, 26265648
Fax: 91-11-26265649
E-mail: secretariat@ncpedp.org
Website:
www.ncpedp.org (External Website)