July 25, 2019
Good news for the disabled community in Punjab with the government
committing to issue disability certificates faster. The government says the
process will now be streamlined.
The delay in the issuing of disability certificates has led to protests in
many parts of Punjab, Most recently, activists of the Handicapped
Union blocked the main gate of a hospital in Fazilka to draw
attention to the problems they face. One of the main issues the disabled
community has been voicing is the inconvenience cause due to the repeated
trips they have to make to hospitals.
The government of Punjab seems to have noticed these voices finally and has
promised to make the process faster and transparent. More hospitals and
authorities at the district and sub divisional level have been designated as
well.
Grievance cells across Punjab have been flooded with complaints over the huge
delays. This is true for large parts of India, with people with disabilities
saying they have to wait for months. There are not enough specialists
available which means repeated trips.
The delay in certificates is just one issue, say activists.
It would be great if the provision of the Right of Person with Disability
2016 Act are fully implemented in the state. There are many other aspects
that need to be worked on apart from the issuance of disability
certificates. Many promises and announcements are made but only time will
tell if they are fulfilled. – Arun Kumar, NGO
Disha,Chandigarh
“Getting a disability certificate should be easy and hassle-free. People
with disabilities should not be required to visits the hospitals repeatedly
because of unavailability of specialists,” adds Kiran
Verma, a visually impaired person from Mohali.
The upgrade of the disability certificate process was announced by
Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu recently. Singh
also said that civil surgeons have been directed to ensure the implementation
of RPWD Act provisions.
Civil surgeons head the medical boards made up of specialists from various
fields like orthopedics, ENT etc. These boards are part of the evaluation
process for issuance of disability certificates. Under the provisions of the
RPWD Act, the boards are meant to have regular meetings to ensure that people
who apply for disability certificates get evaluated and are provided their
documents without much delay.
“No laxity will be tolerated in this regard and if any officer concerned
indulges in dereliction of duty in the issuance of the certificate or delay
the process without any particular reason, then that officer will be strictly
dealt with,” said Sidhu.
The announcement is sure to bring some relief to people with disabilities who
have been waiting for their certificates. In case of any complaints or
disputes that arise, people with disabilities can approach Director,
Health and Family Welfare dwho has been designated as the appellate
authority by the state government.
Source: https://newzhook.com/story/disability-certificate-issuance-to-be-streamlined-rpwd-punjab-government
