Poor utilisation of funds meant for disabled by states: Expert

The lack of commitment and weak institutional capacity towards disabled people in India has led to decline in release and utilisation of funds allocated for them.

archana

Archana Mishra | August 13, 2016 | New Delhi


#disabled   #Funds   #ministry of social justice and empowerment   #DDRS  

According to the figures released by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the funds allocated or released under the Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS) in last  three years has declined  from Rs 14,960 (2013-14) lakhs to just Rs 6,599 lakhs (2015-16)  because state governments could not spend the allocated fund.

The ministry’s explanation for poor expenditure was that the schemes are mostly demand driven which implies that actual release of funds can be affected only after receipt of complete proposal from the eligible state governments. This was stated in Raja Sabha in 2015, which Dr NC Saxena, former member of National Advisory Council cited while addressing the two-day national consultation organized by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
 
He said, often the proposals received are not complete which results in delay in releasing funds. Some of the state governments are also not well equipped to look into the requirement of various schemes which could lead to timely processing of the proposal. 
 
Saxena said, “At the state level political and bureaucratic commitment to the Persons with Disability (PWD) Act remains a basic question.”
He added, “An evaluation done by the Planning Commission  in 2013  revealed low awareness among PWDs of government schemes  and weak channels to address the demand has all lead to low programme impact."
 
Mentioning about Indira Awas Yojna (rural housing), Saxena mentioned only 0.7 percent PWDs (persons with disability) are the beneficiary. The dissatisfaction with respect to rehabilitation under the scheme was high in the states of Odisha with 84.7 percent followed by Bihar 80.9 percent.
 

Comments

 

Other News

Mumbai’s missing affordable homes

Mumbai’s real estate market keeps growing, yet homeownership remains out of reach for much of its population. Three experts – urban researcher Hussain Indorewala, urban planner Vidyadhar Phatak and developer Kamlesh Thakur of NAREDCO Maharashtra, agree that simply constructing more apartments

Rubio denies US foreknowledge of Starlink restrictions in Ukraine

US secretary of state Marco Rubio has said he was unfamiliar with the Wall Street Journal report suggesting Elon Musk had decided to throttle Starlink services in Ukraine, but rejected claims that Washington had ordered the restrictions to pressure Kyiv.   “There was no

Can AI change India’s breast cancer story?

Breast cancer has become a public-health challenge in India. The greatest opportunity is to find cancers earlier. Artificial intelligence (AI) is opening a new era in breast cancer detection. AI systems can analyse mammograms and other breast-imaging studies, identify subtle abnormalities and assist radi

Farm stability in the time of climate change

Indian agriculture is experiencing significant climate volatility, while the world economy seems to be in a highly volatile situation. Economic indices from various countries show that they need to recalibrate their strategies to withstand economic headwinds. In such a challenging situation, a country li

El Niño threatens India’s Rabi crops

India’s southwest monsoon ended with a 13% rainfall deficit in 2026, its weakest performance in a decade, raising concerns over agricultural production, water security and the upcoming rabi season. With El Niño expected to persist into early 2027, experts warn that declining soil moisture, dep

Regulating the data advantage: India’s new e-Commerce framework

For over a decade, India’s e-commerce story has rested on a simple premise: platforms connect buyers and sellers, while data fuels efficiency, personalisation, and scale. However, as the market matured, its structure has revealed a growing imbalance. E-commerce platforms, especially marketplace ent

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter