PSSA accuses Assam government of curtailing disability benefits, demands Orunodoi coverage for all PwDs

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Pratibandhi Suraksha Sangstha, Assam (PSSA), has alleged the BJP-led government of depriving persons with disabilities (PwDs) of benefits by cutting existing schemes and demanded that Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma announce that every person with a disability would receive Orunodoi benefits along with their other entitlements on Independence Day.

PSSA secretary Nripen Malakar said the government had failed to implement several provisions and schemes meant for persons with disabilities and demanded greater attention to pensions, filling backlog vacancies, free medical treatment, housing and special schools.

Malakar alleged that benefits previously available under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, had been curtailed. He said the government had earlier stated that disability pensions would be incorporated into the Orunodoi scheme, but many beneficiaries had neither received the promised Orunodoi amount nor continued to receive their earlier benefits.

He said the Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS), launched in 2017, provided Rs 1,000 each to 16,162 beneficiaries but had been discontinued in 2023. He also alleged that despite assurances that persons with disabilities would receive Rs 1,250 under Orunodoi, most had not received the benefit. The association submitted a 12-point memorandum to the Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment and urged the Chief Minister to announce the payment of all due benefits to persons with disabilities on Independence Day. Malakar warned that the organisation would launch protests after Independence Day if its demands were not addressed.

Malakar also demanded the immediate setting up of a university for PwDs in the state. The association also alleged that of the 4,419 backlog posts identified across 23 departments, advertisements were issued for only 863 posts in 2018, leaving 3,556 posts yet to be filled. It further demanded steps to fully nationalise Assam’s only higher secondary school for visually impaired students, established in Guwahati in 2019.

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