Department of Information and Public Relations

Press Release No. 688/18

SAMAJIK ADHIKARITA SHILLONG

The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) and the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Govt. Of India today held the Samajik Adhikarita Shivir, at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Shillong. Speaking at the function Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said that it is the priority of the Government to ensure that the schemes and welfare measures reach the people. “It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that policies that have been made are implemented and the schemes and programmes reach the intended target group”, he said. During the camp, aids and assistive devices were distributed to persons with disabilities under the ADIP scheme and Assistive Living devices were distributed to senior citizens belonging to BPL category under the Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana (RVY). The Chief Minister expressed his satisfaction that the programme such as this will ensure development that is all inclusive and every citizen get an opportunity add value to the society and the nation.

Stating that implementation of programs and schemes require a collective effort from all stakeholders the Chief Minister also expressed his gratitude to the NGOs from the region who are engaged in various initiatives for the empowerment of people with disabilities. Addressing the gathering Thaawarchand Gehlot, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, said that the objective of the camp is to make the people aware about the initiatives and schemes of the Government and also to receive feedback to make the implementation of the programmes more effective. “We have organised more than 7300 camps all over the country covering more than 12 lakh beneficiaries under the ADIP and RVY and I must say that today’s exercise is the largest of its kind in the North Eastern Region”, he said. The Union Minister also urged the implementing agencies and departments to provide training to persons with disabilities to equip them with skill sets that will provide them with an opportunity for employment and allow them to become independent. “I would like to exhort everyone gathered here to be proactive for speedy implementation and success of Government schemes”, he added.

The Minister also announced that a state of the art sports facility will be set up in Shillong for the differently abled along with the Composite Regional Centre. The Sports centre will be one of the only five in the country. Others present at the function were Shri. A.L. Hek, Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Shri. Kyrmen Shylla, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Smt. Shakuntala Doley Gamlin, Secretary Department of Empowerment of Person with Disabilities, Govt. of India, Shri. D.R. Sarin, Chairman and MD ALIMCO, and other dignitaries and officials from different government departments.