State tops in issuing ID cards to divyangs

RECORD Rajasthan has overtaken MP by issuing 222,422 cards

has topped the country in issuing Universal ID and Disability (UDID) cards, a single document of identification and verification for differentlyabled persons, with a total of 2,22,422 cards made so far.

In the latest status report of the department of empowerment of persons with disabilities, Rajasthan has overtaken Madhya Pradesh and is at the top spot for the number of e-UDID cards generated, said Anupama Jorwal, director, specially-abled persons in the department of social justice and Empowerment. Madhya Pradesh has generated 2,18,007 e-cards while Odisha is a distant third with 59,248 e-cards.

Jorwal said soft copies of the cards are available online and people can download them or the cards will be delivered to their homes address.

Dr Samit Sharma, special secretary and director of the department of social justice and empowerment, said in eight months Rajasthan has achieved what MP has done in past four years.

According to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016,

the UDID cards are given to those with 40% and above disability. The cards capture all the necessary details of the individual so they do not have to make multiple copies of documents or carry multiple documents. The information on the cards can be decoded with the help of a reader.

Sharma said the state government is also carrying out a screening and updating records of divyang in the state to get exact data so government welfare schemes can reach them, he said.

While the 2011 Census lists the number of persons with disabilities at 15,63,694, there is no exact data, he said. Moreover, the centre has added 16 more disabilities to the earlier seven in the Act and these persons also have to be included.

To this end, the department held camps in three phases, said Jorwal. In the first phase, camps were held from June to September 2017 where over nine lakh differently-abled were registered.

In the second phase from October to December 2017, medical examination of the registered persons was carried out to identify those who have above 40% disability. These persons were then certified. In the third phase from December-March 2018, cards and aids were distributed to those certified and so far 2.22 lakh UDID cards and aids have been given, said Jorwal.

JAIPUR:Rajasthan