Bhubaneswar: The Department of Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD) has amended the norms of the Banishree scheme for scholarship for the differently-abled.
The department has amended the rules and uses of the new Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 against the earlier use of Persons with Disabilities (Equal Oppurtunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995. With the changes, the department has ensured coverage of more categories of special kids not defined in the earlier Act, but mentioned in the new 2016 act.
In the notification issued Wednesday, the SSEPD department said, “Pursuant to enforcement of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and considering the convenience of applicants under Banishree Scheme for Scholarship, the state government has been pleased to amend the guidelines issued in Women and Child Development Department.”
The amendments, besides changing the original Act which acted as the basis for eligibility, also make the SSEPD department implementing authority for the scheme which earlier was handled by the Women and Child Development department. It has entrusted the task of the scheme to the District Social Security Officer (DSSO) against the earlier use of District Social Welfare Officers (DSWOs).
The main purpose of the scholarship to the students with special needs is to assist and encourage them to study as well as acquire technical/professional/vocational training so as to enable them to earn a living and to become useful members of society. This ensures financial assistance to the regular students of educational institutes of Odisha with special needs whose parental income is not more than Rs 60,000 per annum. It ensures readers’ allowance, monthly allowance for transport and other assistance.
However the word disability under the scheme was earlier defined by the 1995 act which has now been made according to the 2016 act to widen the ambit of disabilities from earlier 7 (1995 law) to 21 (2016 law). The Section 3 of the scheme guidelines earlier read, “Disability means any category of disability as defined in Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 and National Trust Act, 1999.”