At a Disabled People’s Assembly convened by the National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD), hundreds of persons with disabilities representing 14 rights organisations across as many states, gathered and resolved to demand a hike in the Centre’s share of pension for persons with disabilities under the Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme.
The rights organisations came together to submit a memorandum to Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Virendra Kumar. In it, they asked for the pension amount to be raised to ₹5,000 from ₹300 a month and for the scheme’s eligibility criteria to be less exclusionary.
In the letter, sent by email to the Minister, the rights organisations have noted that even though the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 defined benchmark disability as any person having 40% or more disability, the scheme requires the qualifying beneficiaries to have 80% disability, be it over 18 years of age, and below the poverty line.
The rights bodies said in the letter: “No wonder the scheme covers only 3.84% of the disabled population identified by the 2011 Census.” The rights organisations said they wanted the Social Justice Ministry to “impress upon” the Rural Development Ministry to address their demands.
At the Assembly held at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, the rights bodies gathered and discussed the resolutions and demands, V Muralidharan, General Secretary of NPRD told The Hindu. He added that they had sought an appointment with the Minister through MPs but that had not materialised.
In addition to the hike in the pension amount and relaxation of the eligibility criteria, the organisations have demanded that a law be passed in Parliament to guarantee disability pension as a legal right, and also provide jobs to all disabled persons who register for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MNREGA).
At the public rally on Monday, MPs like John Brittas, V. Sivadasan, Bikashranjan Bhattacharjee, A.A. Rahim (all CPIM); Tiruchi Siva (DMK), Javed Ali Khan (SP), Fouzia Khan (NCP), Masum Noor (Trinamool Congress), and Mahua Maaji (JMM) promised their support to the cause and committed to raising the issue in the House, the NPRD said.
Published - February 11, 2025 01:49 am IST