The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Minister distributes financial aid to NGOs

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Minister distributes financial aid to NGOs

Special Correspondent

Poongothai inaugurates classrooms for the mentally challenged

— Photo: A. Muralitharan

Reaching out: Social Welfare Minister Poongothai interacts with children after inaugurating new buildings at the Government Institute for Mentally Retarded at Tambaram Sanatorium on Monday.

TAMBARAM: Social Welfare Minister Poongothai Aladi Aruna on Monday inaugurated new classrooms and hostels at the Government Institute for Mentally Retarded at Tambaram Sanatorium.

The Minister distributed financial assistance to the tune of Rs.1 crore to 200 non-governmental organisations. The amount would be used for training select teachers from each of these NGOs to impart special education to the children.

She said creating policies was not difficult, but implementing them was. The State was according top priority to ensure that provisions of all welfare schemes, especially for children and those with disabilities, reached them.

Later, when reporters drew the Minister’s attention to the recent incident involving the alleged torture of a seven-year-old at the Tambaram Sanatorium Institute, she said the probe was complete. “The allegations are baseless and those were old wounds,” she remarked.

State Commissioner for the Disabled V.K. Jeyakodi said the allotment of Rs.1 crore for 200 NGOs was for the period between September last year and March this year. The State government had allotted Rs.25 crore for 2007-08 for the welfare of the disabled. Some of the important schemes being implemented were provision of Rs.500 per month to parents of 30,000 mentally retarded children and adults.

S. Suganthi, Project Officer, said the institute started functioning in 1984 and was on the threshold of celebrating its silver jubilee. There were 80 children and adults in the age group of 4 to 18. Of them, 40 were residents while the rest were day scholars. The new buildings were constructed at a cost of Rs.70 lakh, she added.

Kancheepuram Collector Santhosh K. Misra, Tambaram MLA S.R. Raja and St. Thomas Mount Panchayat Union Chairman K. Elumalai spoke.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu