Bhubaneswar: Orissa government today
decided to set up a separate directorate for physically
challenged persons besides amending industrial policy
resolution (IPR) to reserve jobs for them in industries.
"IPR needs to be amended to provide job reservation
for the physically challenged," Women and Child Development
Minister Pramila Malick told reporters after a high level
meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
It was also decided to supply rice at Rs 2/kg to
physically challenged persons on the line of BPL families, she
said adding special schools for handicapped students would
now be under the school and mass education department.
All the 116 special schools would get grants from
Sarva Sikshya Abhiyan (SSA) after they come under the
department, the minister said.
About 81 un-aided schools imparting education to
disabled students would also get government aid.
With disabled persons facing difficulties in getting
handicapped certificates from district headquarter hospitals,
the government decided to make the facility available at block
levels. "Physically challenged persons can now get
certificates from community health centres (CHCs)," she said.
Besides setting up an industrial training institute
(ITI) for them, the state government decided to build a
special women’s hostel here to lodge working disabled females.
There were about 10 lakh disabled persons in the
state, the minister said.
A monitoring committee headed by the Chief Minister
would oversee implementation of these plans.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, September 22, 2010, 00:34