MYSORE: National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) member Shivaraj V. Patil on Friday said that the NHRC has recommended to the Union Government that a Ministry be formed to look into the welfare of the disabled.

Mr. Patil was speaking here after inaugurating a workshop for the disabled organised by the District Legal Services Authority and the Karnataka State Disabled Welfare Parishath.

He said the recommendation to the Government was made following a resolution passed at a conference for the disabled organised last year. He said the conference felt that there had to be representation of disabled persons in every organisation and a separate Ministry should be formed to look into their welfare. The issue of forming a separate Ministry is being considered by the Government, he added.

Referring to a demand made by the parishath to set up a separate cell in NHRC for speedy disposal of cases pertaining to the disabled, Mr. Patil said NHRC already has a special office to look into the welfare issues of disabled persons.

In fact, he is responsible for issues pertaining to cases of the disabled, he said. Quoting a recent survey of handicapped persons in India, he said the survey identified 50 million handicapped persons in India, of which 48.5 per cent are visually impaired and 26.9 per cent are physically challenged. Hearing impaired persons constituted 5.8 per cent of the handicapped population in the country, he added. He said the Equal Opportunity and Protection of Rights for the Disabled Act formulated in 1995 was passed to protect the interests of the disabled.

Implementation

However, the law alone will not help, but it has to be implemented properly, he said. To implement the law, an enforcement agency, a proactive judiciary and a free press should support the initiative, he added.

Mr. Patil said: "The disabled should be treated as differently-abled. It is not an issue of charity, but one of rights."

Additional District Sessions Judge C.G. Hunugund, Deputy Commissioner S. Selvakumar, Member Secretary, District Legal Services Authority, Basavaraj S. Sappanna, and President of the Karnataka State Handicapped Welfare Parishath S.S. Vaidyanathan were present.

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