Negligence in welfare of elderly divyangs and destitute people won't be tolerated Chhattisgarh CM

Raipur, Jul 23 (PTI) Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Wednesday warned the government officials that negligence in the welfare of the elderly, 'divyangs' or persons with disabilities and destitute citizens will not be tolerated at any level.
He also instructed them to prepare an action plan to provide skill training to divyang persons and ensure its swift implementation in order to make them self-reliant.
Chairing a review meeting of the state's Social Welfare Department at Mantralaya Mahanadi Bhavan, Sai said the goals of developed India by 2047 can only be achieved when every section of society, specially divyangjan, is fully empowered, an official statement said.
Sai emphasized that it is the need of the hour to ensure that all divyangs are given skill training and made self-reliant, and instructed officials to prepare an action plan in this regard and ensure its swift implementation, it said.
The CM also directed the officials to immediately resolve pending pension cases related to the elderly and divyang beneficiaries.
The process should be given utmost priority and carried out in the spirit of public service, so that eligible beneficiaries receive their rightful support on time, it said.
Negligence in the welfare of the elderly, divyangs and destitute citizens will not be tolerated at any level, the CM said.
Old-age homes, grant-in-aid institutions for disabled children, and rehabilitation centres must be streamlined and strengthened. Divyang people should be skill-trained as per their interests and capabilities under the Chief Minister Skill Development Scheme, and provided training in various trades, he said.
Sai also directed officials to expedite the registration of members of the transgender community and ensure they are covered under schemes like ration cards, Ayushman Bharat. He called for organising special camps for divyangjan to facilitate UDID (Unique Disability ID) registration and medical board-issued disability certification, the release said.
All needy individuals - be it children, women, youth, or the elderly - who require prosthetic limbs, crutches, hearing aids, tricycles, or physiotherapy support, must be provided with these assistive devices immediately, he said.
In the meeting, Social Welfare Minister Lakshmi Rajwade, said that destitute, homeless, nomadic individuals, including divyangs, women, and children found in public spaces should be swiftly rehabilitated through proper institutional arrangements.
She also stressed the need for extensive promotion of the department's helpline number to ensure that more people can access government assistance.
Officials said that in the last one year, 137 special health camps were organised across the state for divyangjan, wherein a total of 7,669 individuals were screened, out of which 6,671 were provided with prosthetic limbs and other assistive devices significantly boosting their mobility, independence, and confidence.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)