On 3 December, the DC of Alwar district of Rajasthan, Dr. J K Soni, was honoured by the President of India, Ms. Draupadi Murmu. It was the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, and Dr. Soni received this honour for his work towards the empowerment of the specially abled.
The department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India, had released a list, in which, Alwar was chosen as the best district in the country for its efforts towards upliftment of the specially abled.
In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, Dr. Soni who is a 2010-batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre, talked about the many campaigns that led to this recognition.
ALWAR RISES TO THE OCCASION
In this fast paced world, life can be especially difficult for people with any kind of disability. While the Indian government is taking all efforts to make things easy for the specially abled by providing them reservations to scholarships, still a major chunk of them is unable to get independence in terms of livelihood.
Hence, it is heartening to see Alwar district administration taking the issues of the specially abled very seriously and running numerous campaigns for their empowerment. And the officer spearheading these campaigns is the current DC, Dr. J K Soni. So when his work was recognized by the Union government, it didn’t really come as a surprise for the people of Alwar, who have witnessed his untiring efforts and dedication.
SAKSHAM: ENSURING BENEFITS REACH THEM
Under this campaign, government officials teams went all over the district to help the specially abled get all the benefits that are provided by the state and central government. In the first phase, door-to-door survey was conducted to collect data of the specially abled in the district. In the second phase, camps were set up in 22 panchayats, where a team of doctors did check-up and provided disability certificate on the spot. While, Artificial Limb Manufacturing Corp of India did the registration of people for helping equipment and provided a receipt.
Besides this, the Social Justice department took on-the-spot application and connected the specially abled with different schemes that includes pensions, Kanyadan programme, etc.
Talking about the camps Dr. Soni said, “Not only the different departments of the district, but the local representatives and administration also helped in the camps. The Information & Public Redressal department appointed E-Mitra and CSC operators to help the candidates fill up their form. And, Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation provided free passes for the specially abled.”
HELPING FIND LIFE PARTNERS
At the same time, the district administration is also running programmes for training and self-employment of the specially abled. With the help of NGOs, the blind students studying in schools have started taking training in Braille and self-defense. Sight Savours NGO is helping them to learn the technology of mobile and laptops and providing them these devices for free.
Besides this, the administration is also working on a plan to host a meet-up of the differently abled, where they can find the right life partner. Dr. Soni said that the administration is planning to help in the wedding also.
SUGAMYA ALWAR: ONE WINDOW, MANY PROGRAMMES
To ensure that the differently abled do not have to move from table to table for any work, a new mini-secretariat with a one-window system has been set up.
The administration is also working towards making entire Alwar a differently-abled friendly district. For this, all the public offices are being renovated with newly constructed ramps and railings. And, the government offices that have completed this are getting a certificate of ‘Sugamya Bhawan’.
This year on 16 October, a programme was held where the specially abled got equipment according to their needs and few government departments got certificates for making their building easily accessible for the differently able. In this programme, Ms. Pratima Bhaumik, the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment was also present.
As a result of all these programmes, now 29562 specially abled are getting their pension, 1839 got helping equipments and artificial limbs, 4041 people are connected with CM Palanhar Yojna, 29197 got unique disability certificate and 3655 differently abled are now going to school.
