MUMBAI: Nearly four years after the draft of a policy for the differently-abled was presented to then Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, activists now hope that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Shiv Sena government will clear it in the winter session of the legislature in Nagpur.
The draft suggests medical aid, skill development, technical education, social and financial resettlement, government jobs, and reservation for over 25 lakh population in the category. Activists allege that in the absence of a policy, around Rs. 400-500 crore allotted in the State budget was either unspent or diverted.
“We have been demanding implementation of the policy for years. Left with no other option, thousands of differently-abled citizens will be staging a demonstration in Nagpur next week,” said Shankar Salve of Disable Rights and Development Organisation.
Mr. Salve said the government has sidelined the issue. “Over the past two years, the government has not announced a special award for the differently-abled, which is an annual affair. Unlike previous years, not a single advertisement highlighting the government’s work was published on this year’s World Disability Day.”
“The government is delaying the process for some unknown reason,” said Vijay Kanherkar, co-ordinator of Disable Rights and Development Front.
Independent MLA Bacchu Kadu, who has been leading several agitations for the rights of the differently-abled, said: “Forget the policy. Let me ask the government whether it is implementing the 1995 Act for the differently-abled. Our Finance Minister had announced a stipend of Rs. 1,000 per month, but it has not been implemented. This government is busy in making announcements, but lacks in implementation.”
