Bhubaneswar: Notwithstanding the 12 lakh differently-abled population residing in the state, the government has been able to give the benefits of disability pension only to around 38 per cent of the population, the state department of Social Security and Persons with Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD) told the House, Saturday.
The state government admitted before the Odisha Assembly, Saturday, that it has been able to cover merely 38 per cent of the differently-abled population with the pensions as envisioned under the Centre’s Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension (IGNDP) and the state’s Madhu Babu Pension Yojana (MBPY).
The reply was furnished by the state SSEPD department minister Ashok Chandra Panda. He, in his written reply to the Odisha Assembly, Saturday said, “As per the 2011 Census the total number of differently-abled persons in the state stood at 12,44,402. Soon after the enactment of the Representation of People with Disabilities Act 2016 the department is taking necessary steps to enrol 21 types of disabilities all over the state. Around 4,69,074 (38%) persons with disabilities are being provided with pension under the IGNDP and MBPY.”
He also said that 8,498 PwD (persons with disabilities) with locomotor disability have been provided with wheelchairs and tricycles as on October 2019 while 2,831 hearing impaired persons have been provided with hearing aid as on October 2019. On the other hand, 2,003 visually impaired persons have been provided with white canes as of October 2019.
The SSEPD department also said that the department is taking special care for intellectual disability. The minister also said that special measures are being taken to ensure the welfare of the persons.
He said, “The government has taken steps to simplify the procurement of disability cards. In case of disability that is perceptive to the naked eye and known diseases of Hemophilia, Thalassemia, Sickle Cell and Parkinson’s, disease identity cards can be issued by the authorised officers of the SSEPD department and health department to avail the benefits of state government schemes.”
