Our Correspondent
Kohima | November 18
The Nagaland Social Welfare Department has reaffirmed its commitment to widen welfare programmes for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs).
The department’s Golden Jubilee souvenir informed that as part of the programmes, a disability park is under construction near Kohima. The department has also issued 6,392 ID cards and is making continuous efforts in all the districts.
Scholarships for PwDs are being provided at the rate of Rs. 300 per month and totally blind pension is also provided at Rs. 300 per month. In addition, 1% seat is being reserved in 3 Eklavya Model Residential Schools for disabled students.
Under the SIPDA, 9 DC offices in the district headquarters have been made barrier free and the remaining are also under proposal, the department informed. Further, eight colleges have also been made barrier free.
The department also informed that 4% job reservation in government services and free travel concessions in NST for disabled person have been notified. Inclusive education of disabled children through SSA is being initiated and trainings are being imparted to the teachers besides some special schools for the disabled children in the state.
The department added that post identification for PwDs has also been notified, while the Blind School cum Vocational Training Centre (VTC) is on the verge of completion at Dimapur. It also stated that Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) has set aside the 3rd Sunday of every November as Disability Sunday.
Under Accessible India Campaign, 30 government offices have been approved, out of which 25 have been audited and under proposal for construction. 12 Government colleges have also been approved and 20% work has been completed.
Other initiatives include constitution of Medical Boards for certification of PwDs in all the districts. Further, the National Institute of Empowerment for Persons with Mental Disability (NIEPMD) has distributed Teaching Learning Materials (TLM) kits to various identified schools in Nagaland during 2017-18.
Meanwhile, under the New India Assurance Co. Ltd, there is a proposal to provide affordable health insurance cover to person with disabilities like blindness, low vision, leprosy cured, hearing impairment, loco-motor disability, mental retardation and mental illness.
This is in addition to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 coming into force in the state.
