pg 1 19th feb HK focus Aiming for better implementation of Deendayal Disabilities Rehabilitation Scheme in East and North-East India

A regional conference on implementation of Deendayal Disability Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS) in eastern and north-eastern states was held in Kolkata on 18th Feb. The conference was attended by Dr. Prabodh Seth, Joint Secretary in the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Shri Vikash Prasad, Director – DEPwD, Dr. Abhishek Biswas, Director, National Institute of Locomotor Disabilities (NILD), Shri Ramanuj Dey, Under Secretary to the Government of India, several State Government Secretaries and State Welfare Officers, District Welfare Officers in charge of DDRS, Disability Commissioners and the programme implementation agencies which are mostly NGOs. The State Government representatives of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura participated in the conference. This is the third of a series of Regional Conferences held across the country and the exercise will culminate in a National Conference to be held on 1^st March, 2019 at New Delhi.

DDRS, a central scheme has been operational with the objective of ensuring effective implementation of the Rights to Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (earlier Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995) through creating an enabling environment and encouraging programme implementing agencies through financial assistance. With a view to inclusion of persons with disabilities in the mainstream of society and actualizing their potential, the thrust is now on education and training programmes. The scheme was thus revised and the revised scheme was made effective from 1^st April, 2018.

     The day-long deliberations of the conference with all stakeholders focussed on an in-depth understanding and better implementation of the scheme in terms of better facilities to end beneficiaries, that is, persons with disabilities in the region. About 26 percent of total NGOs under DDRS and 46 percent of Special School for Children with Intellectual Disabilities are from Eastern and North-Eastern states of India.                                -Hello Kolkata Network