Maneka for empowering the disabled

By Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI, APRIL 1. Ms. Maneka Gandhi, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, has stressed the need for inter- institutional cooperation among the Government, various institutions and others for empowerment of the disabled.

Speaking at a seminar organised by the Indian Law Institute on ``Towards enabling legal environment: Rights of persons with disabilities'' here on Friday, she gave a comprehensive view of the executive actions taken for empowerment of the disabled in the country. She, however, lamented the reluctance of the concerned people in not cooperating with the census agencies to get the correct dimensions of the problem recorded.

Ms. Gandhi appreciated the impact of the ``International decade of the disabled'' being celebrated by the United Nations about the disabled which had created, not only a fair response but developed a movement with commitment. She also brought to focus the obduracies at different levels faced by the implementation agencies like medical expertise in identifying the persons deserving employment allowance and other facilities.

Calling for cooperation at all levels, she was emphatic about the much-discussed Rehabilitation Act saying it was good but not much used and expressed hope that the National Trust envisaged by the Act would be established soon. Counselling and assistance would be oriented to the ``equal geographical distribution'' in all parts of the country through regional centres and special national programmes.

She said establishment of fitment centres at district levels would be undertaken to meet the requirements of the disabled at door-steps. She said the government-owned Artificial Limb Corporation would take care of the disabled on a largescale by having auxiliary centres at different places in the country.

Inaugurating the seminar, Mr. Justice S. P. Bharucha, Supreme Court judge, referred to the statistics about the disabled and described it as a horror story, which demanded immediate discussion and solution. He stressed creation of new attitudes towards the disabled, considered till now ``the unwanted members of society''. He urged that they be treated as equals with other citizens and the directives of equal justice under Article 39 A must be made enforceable as a component of Right to Life with dignity. Mr. Justice K. Ramaswamy, Member, National Human Rights Commission, who presided over the seminar, said a zealous commitment to the rights guaranteed to the disabled by the conventions and Parliament was needed. The law must be supported with commitment without which it could not be expectedly effective.

Prof. (Ms.) S. K. Verma, Director of the Institute, and Mr. Harish N. Salve, Solicitor-General of India, were among those who spoke.

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