‘No data to render aid to differently abled’
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Court impresses upon need for govt. to come up with short and long-term plans
The Madras High Court on Thursday lamented the absence of a database regarding the number of differently-abled people in the State, the kinds of disability suffered by them, their age and financial status so that those in need of long-term and short-term government assistance, especially during a pandemic such as COVID-19, can be provided benefits in no time.
Passing interim orders on a batch of cases, Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P.D. Audikesavalu said the focus of the cases pending before them, in public interest, was the need for assistance for the differently abled. Though the government had filed quite a few status reports, “it does not appear that appropriate assistance is reached to the extent necessary,” they said.
The judges said not all differently-abled people in the State might be in need of government assistance. While various difficulties were faced by the State during the pandemic, they said it nevertheless had a separate department to look after the needs of the differently abled.
Yet, “it does not appear that adequate attention has been given to problems faced by persons with disabilities who may not be able to fend for themselves or even have access to basic amenities,” the court said.
Though the government claimed to have distributed COVID-19 cash relief of ₹1,000 to the differently abled, the judges wrote: “Even to the most needy, ₹1,000 as assistance may be of little meaning in this day and age.”
Conceding that the court might not have the wherewithal or the domain knowledge in specific fields, the judges said the administrators too might not always have expertise in every area. However, good administration calls for engaging the experts and chalking out plans, the judges observed and granted four weeks’ time for the government to come up with a “more acceptable” plan.
Penning the order, the Chief Justice said there was no doubt that there were competing interests that fight for limited resources, but they could not be a reason for leaving the differently abled in a lurch without any plan.
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