By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Even as Meghalaya has 18000 registered persons with disabilities, the state government so far has not been able to implement the various schemes and programmes meant for the Persons With Disability (PWDs) in the state.
The allegation was made by the N Sengupta who is the member of the state nodal agency for the Meghalaya Badhte Kadam III and the vice president of the Meghalaya Parents Association for Person with Disabilities (MePAD) here at a press conference on Saturday.
According to Sengupta, there are 27 state government schemes which have not been implemented in the state while there are also 10 schemes under the national trust which is yet to be implemented.
“There is one scheme called Gharauda scheme and the State Government has not availed the scheme so far,” he added on Saturday.
As per the accusations of the state nodal members, there is also a scheme called Niramaya where PWDs are to be provided with health insurance but no hospital has been notified by the State Government till date.
Reacting to a query whether the MePAD has taken up the matter with the State Government, the members said, “ The Government always says that they lack funds for the different schemes.”
The MePAD has also asked the State Government to setup a tele link where any disabled person having any problem in rural areas can directly link to get all the assistance.
To further create awareness about the problems of disability, the national trust will organise country wise campaign programme “Badhte Kadam III 2011 in the state from November 3 till December 2 along with the rest of the world.
The goal of the programme is to create more opportunities for participation in the community for PWDs.
During the course of the programme melas and campaign run will also be organised to create awareness among the people about the rights and problems of the PWDs.
However, the state nodal agency has also expressed its concern over the lack of funds for the successful launching of the Meghalaya Badhte Kadam III.
“Last time we got only 80000 rupees from the national trust and we have to even pay from our pockets for the success of the programme,” Sengupta added.