KOZHIKODE: ‘Kayyethum Doorathu’, an outreach programme initiated by the district administration three months ago to clear the backlog of applications for disability certificates and legal guardianship, has so far covered 373 persons.
The project, currently in progress in various parts of the district with the support of a special medical board, aims to cover 5,500 differently-abled beneficiaries through regional adalats in the first phase.
At Thursday’s adalat held at Eranhipalam, as many as 118 applications were cleared by the medical board. Majority of applicants were children and students. The adalats earlier held at Thamarassery and Koduvally had settled 255 applications. Three more adalats will be held in the district this month to cover the remaining beneficiaries.
Officials said the lack of disability certificates and legal guardianship documents was a hurdle for differently-abled people when it came to claiming benefits under various Central and State government schemes. According to official figures, nearly 12,000 persons were identified in Kozhikode district alone, and they will be covered in a phased manner.
Meanwhile, Revenue Department officials said the support of various voluntary organisations had been sought for organising regional adalats. The Composite Regional Centre (CRC) for Persons with Disabilities and youths who are part of the District Collector’s Internship Programme (DCIP) too have been enlisted for the purpose, they added. Medical officers who are part of the project said no government fund had been sought to conduct adalats, as they were conducted by mobilising voluntary contributions.
Those attached to the project work without remuneration, they added. Project coordinators said it was for the first time in the State such an initiative was taken up for clearing the backlog of applications for disability certificates and legal guardianship for a neglected community. The medical board was constituted in such a way to approach beneficiaries directly. Along with this, the adalats will be considering applicants’ grievances on pending pension benefits and treatment aid, they added.
