Srinagar: Although the matter is under active consideration of the government, enhancing the monthly disability allowances for the persons with special needs from Rs 1,000 to 3,000 is contingent upon the availability of funds from the Centre, Minister for School/Higher Education, Health and Medical Education departments, Sakina Masood said Friday.
Since the matter is still being processed, the minister said the monthly disability allowances for the persons with special needs would be raised as soon as the funds are released.
“We understand that Rs 1000 is insufficient to cover the expenses of those with special needs; it needs to be raised to Rs 3000 per month. Since the government is actively considering the issue, the monthly disability allowances for people with special needs will be increased as soon as the centre releases funds,” she told the media here.
The issue, the minister claimed, is being worked on and will take some time to execute, depending on the availability of the funds from the Centre.
When asked why most of the disabled persons have not received their monthly stipends for months together, leading them to mark the World Disability Day as “Black Day”, she said while they receive their monthly pension on time; some people who are covered under Integrated Social Security Scheme (ISSS) have some complaints.
“We are looking into these complaints and have written to the centre as well. Since a larger portion of the share originates from the centre, the states and UTs have a smaller part. We want the issue to be addressed as early as possible so the widowed and elderly women get their monthly stipends without any hitch,” she added.
