At 54, K.S. Rajanna is proud that he represents persons with disabilities across the State. People who have been visiting the office of the Karnataka Commission for Persons with Disabilities have all told him that they are happy that finally the commission is headed by someone who can empathise with them.
As he narrates his journey, Mr. Rajanna’s eyes light up with pride when he points out that the primary school teacher who told his father, an agricultural labourer in Maddur taluk, that an education would be of no use to him (Mr. Rajanna), will now finally be proved wrong.
Mr. Rajanna lost his limbs to polio when he was less than one. Several years were wasted before he was diagnosed and received treatment. His journey throughout was a struggle, right from finishing schooling in his village to coming to Bangalore, training in mechanical work and then setting up a small workshop.
“Having gone through all this, I understand better than anyone what it takes to beat this system,” says Mr. Rajanna, in an interview with The Hindu , where he spoke on the many issues that persons with disabilities face. Three months into his job heading the commission, he says, he is optimistic about changing the way things have worked.
Excerpts:
Q. Eighteen years after thePersons with DisabilitiesAct was legislated, how disabled-friendly are our public policies, our cities, and society?
A. It’s obvious that the enforcement of the Act has been very poor. It’s all around us in Bangalore, where there is zero accessibility in a majority of buildings. Disability rights groups estimate the implementation, 18 years later, to be at about 10 per cent. That is a shame. As a person who is physically challenged, I know that it is difficult to get around independently in most buildings in this city. The condition is hundred times worse in rural areas.
Even the office of the Commissioner for Disabilities, which was delinked from the regular bureaucracy some 10 years ago, has not done what it should have.
In the past year, people with disabilities in the State were put through great hardship, with the government removing people en masse from the monthly disability allowance list on the pretext of weeding out bogus beneficiaries? People still complain that many are left out of the monthly disability allowance list.
This was solved to an extent. But it is true that thousands are still left out. The first step to correct this system would be to conduct a disability census that not only counts the number of persons with disabilities but also records the extent of disability, levels of education, and employment and income. This will be the first step before we can frame effective policies for persons with disabilities in the State.
The other issue is that there are two allowance slots — one for people with severe disabilities (Rs. 1,200) and the other for those with disabilities between 40 and 75 per cent (Rs. 500). This system must go, as a lot of people are being classified in the latter category simply for bureaucratic reasons. This is unfair.
Beneficiaries, particularly in rural areas, have complained that the allowance is delayed…
The issue is not with the delay as much as it with middlemen. I am told in rural areas there are brokers or agents who collect the allowance and pocket a big portion of it. This has to be stopped by making direct benefit transfers to their accounts.
What are the institutional challenges in making these things happen?
First and foremost, staff shortage. In some parts of the State, one District Disability Welfare Officer is taking care of three districts. How can anything work then? The staff shortage in the disability wing of the Department of Women and Child Development is at least 200 as of date. So there are all these good laws, but who will ensure implementation?
