'Disturbing': Madras High Court Reprimands State For Submitting Inaccurate Figures In Plea Seeking Relief For Disabled Amid Covid-19

The Madras High Court on Thursday admonished the Tamil Nadu government for filing an anomalous status report pertaining to the reliefs granted to differently abled persons during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In an earlier hearing, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthikumar Ramamoorthy had directed the State to take immediate measures to assist differently abled persons by terming the matter to be of 'grave importance'.

On Thursday, the Bench observed,

"The State has filed a further status report and several documents, but it is still not clear as to whether the entire quantum of amount earmarked for distribution as aid to persons with disabilities has been reached to the appropriate citizens."

Further the Court noted that although the number of persons with disabilities in the State is recorded to be in excess of 13.35 lakh, the State had submitted that there were several duplicate registrations; unreported deaths and several persons with disabilities had not applied to obtain any assistance. Further, the recent drive to link persons with disabilities with their Aadhaar cards has not been completed yet by the State.

"Thus, what is evident is that persons with disabilities in this State may number considerably more than 3.15 lakh, but somewhat less than 13.35 lakh. For a start, it appears to be disturbing that the State does not have accurate figures in such regard", the Court opined.

Section 24 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 requires persons with disabilities to be provided with more of assistance than others. However this has not been adhered to by the State as assistance of Rs.4,000 was extended to rice card holders in 2021, but a "meagre assistance" is offered to persons with disabilities to the tune of Rs.1,000, the Court noted.

It also referred to a letter issued on July 3, 2021 by the State Relief Commissioner under the Disaster Management Act to all District Collectors requiring utilisation certificates to be furnished and every attempt to be made to identify persons with disabilities and provide them with different welfare schemes.

Enumerating further on the procedure for disbursal of financial assistance to persons with disabilities, the Court observed,

"It may also be permissible to classify persons with disabilities on the basis of their financial status. At any rate, the earmarked amount of about Rs.133 crore has to be disbursed and if it is discovered that the number of persons with disabilities is substantially less than the 13.35 lakh figure that is shown in the database, it will only permit such earmarked sum to be distributed to the lesser number of persons with disabilities such that each person receives substantially more than Rs.1,000."

Reiterating the need to urgently meet the demands of this vulnerable class of citizens, the Court pointed out that several of them might not have the resources or ability to either raise their voice or comprehend that there are anomalies.

Thus the Court directed the State to submit a revised status report addressing the concerns raised on the next date of hearing i.e. on August 12.

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