Dear Access Indians,
I have received a copy of a letter written by Javed Abidi to the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh. A copy is placed below for your perusal. It will be good if you also could send him a similar letter, on your letterhead, in your own language. The way you would want to. Emphasise on the need of a separate Ministry for Disability Affairs. If not, atleast a full-fledged Department under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment. This is a SUPER URGENT matter. The next round of Cabinet expansion will take place, most probably, next week. That’s when a lot of Ministers of State, etc. will be taken in. I request you to please send your letter on Monday itself. And do fax a copy to Javed's office at 011-26265649 or email to Secretariat E-mail Address(es): secretar...@ncpedp.org Kanchan. URGENT ATTN.: HON’BLE PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA Dear Sir, We write to congratulate you on your stupendous success in the elections. We are thrilled and excited that the UPA government has come into power for the second term. We wait in hope and anticipation that the positive initiatives that were begun in the last tenure will continue and touch the lives of each one of the 70 million disabled people in India. The demand for a separate ministry for disability has picked up momentum across the country. This urgent need cannot be emphasized enough. We write to press this demand before you once again. The Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment is not able to fully focus on the issue of disability. With issues of SC/ST, Minorities and the other equally pressing issues demanding attention, the Minister is unable to find the time for issues concerning disabled people. It has been almost 14 years since the Persons with Disability Act was passed. Yet, it has not been properly implemented. The Act itself is in dire need of amendments but this too could not be done. On 1st October 2007, India became the seventh country in the world to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and it was a proud moment for all of us in the Indian disability movement. In a few months, it will be 2 years since the ratification. This needs urgent attention as well. We do realize that setting up of a full-fledged Ministry for Disability Affairs may not be possible right away. Therefore, the best option at the moment would be to implement the mandate already set out in the XIth Five Year Plan: the upgradation of the Disability Division of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, to a Department. We quote verbatim from the Planning Commission document: Clause 6.188: The ‘Disability Division’ of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment shall be strengthened with the status of a separate ‘Department’, so that they can effectively liaise with all the concerned Ministries/Departments and ensure that they fulfill their responsibility towards disabled persons, including the financial support enjoined on them. This gesture would send a strong message not only to India, but to the whole world, about your Government’s commitment to the cause of disability. We urge you to consider this demand favourably. With best wishes and prayers to you and your team, for your second term in office. With deep and personal regards, Yours sincerely, Javed Abidi Honorary Director, NCPEDP 23.5.2009 National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) A -77, South Extension Part II New Delhi - 110 049, India Tel.: 91-11-26265647 / 26265648 Telefax:011-26265649 Websites: www.ncpedp.org and www.dnis.org For accurate and up to date information on disability news and happenings, register free at www.dnis.org To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
