MP Drafts Integrated Divyangjan Policy; Plans 100-Bed Shelter Homes For Mentally Challenged

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Madhya Pradesh Government has started work on the draft of an integrated Divyangjan policy expected to be issued by the year-end. In this regard, it is going to study the policies of other states such as Telangana and Tripura.

The policy is going to propose the setting up of 100-seater shelter homes for mental Divyangs aged 18 years and above. Along with this, it will also propose an integrated strategy to deal with the needs of all kinds of Divyangs.

So far, different departments such as the education, health and social justice departments run policies for Divyangs in sync with their own policy. The integrated policy will help Divyangs in a big manner.

Commissioner, Divyangjan, Dr Ajay Khemaria said that as per the 2011 Census and UDID cards issued to Divyangs, Madhya Pradesh had around 10 lakh Divyangs. It is estimated that after the 2027 Census, the state would have between 25 lakh and 30 lakh Divyangs.

The reason is that in the last census, Divyangs were counted on the basis of seven types of categories, and in the new census, they will be counted on the basis of 21 categories. The Chief Minister is keen to have an integrated Divyang policy.

The policy draft will be prepared by consulting all stakeholders including the Divyangs and the institutions working for them. We will also visit remote tribal areas and rural areas. The rural areas face more problems in dealing with Divyangs than the urban areas. This will also help in the automatic audit of the schemes being run for Divyangs, Khemaria said.

He added that for small children suffering from different kinds of disability, there are arrangements at different levels including hospitals. However, there is no institution to take care of adult mental Divyangs in the state. Hence, the policy is going to propose 100-seater shelter homes for Divyangs aged above 18 years. These will be opened at the division level. Currently, there are not many institutions working for mental Divyangs above 18 years of age.

Policy demands

The Director of SOS Village (Bhopal), Dheeraj Kumar, said Divyang policy should pay attention to physiotherapy for Divyangs under Ayushman facility. He said the pension given to Divyangs should be increased. Moreover, it should be ensured that all the facilities provided by the government reach the targeted individuals.