The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Disability intervention centres in districts

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Wednesday, Jun 20, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Disability intervention centres in districts

Staff Reporter

CHENNAI: Early intervention centres will be soon be set up in various districts in the State to diagnose mental disabilities, and help train and rehabilitate mentally challenged persons, Commissioner for Disabilities V.K. Jayakodi said here on Tuesday.

Speaking at a meeting organised by the All India Confederation of Organisations for Persons with Mental Disability, he said the Disabilities Commissionerate would consult the Minister and Secretary to simplify procedures for special schools applying for recognition.

Adult homes for mentally challenged men and women would also be established to offer vocational training, he added.

Social Welfare Secretary N.S. Palaniappan said, “We can expect the grant to go up next year. Tamil Nadu was the first state to establish a Commissionerate for Disabilities.”

Of the Rs.25 crore allocated for people with mental retardation in this year’s State Budget, Rs.12 crore would be used to pay the monthly allowance of Rs.500 for about 20,000 persons. The remaining Rs.13 crore would be spent on welfare schemes, they said.

The meeting, organised to thank the government for the allocation, also highlighted the challenges faced by special educators and non governmental organisations. Demands put forth by teachers included a time scale-based pay for special educators, waiver for building licence fee and extension of validity period of recognition.

They urged that the maintenance grant of Rs.500 per month be extended to all mentally challenged persons and not just persons in the ‘severe mental retardation’ category.

Nearly 300 teachers, parents and representatives from various NGOs from all over the state participated in the meeting.

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