Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that National Institute of Mental Health and Research (NIMHR) being built at Sehore and the sports complex being constructed for the differently-abled at Gwalior by the Government of India are unique gifts for the State. State Government is continuously active for the welfare of Divyangjans. Identity cards have been made available to about 6 lakh Divyangjans in State. Central Government is also extending full co-operation in this direction. He was addressing a meeting at Mantralaya along with Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thawarchand Gehlot. Courses will be conducted in Mental Health. It was informed that Institute of Mental Health and Research is being constructed in Sehore by Government of India at a cost of Rs 179.40 crores. For this, 25 acres of land has been provided free of cost by the State Government. Certificate courses and training activities on mental health will be conducted in this national level institute to be completed by June 2022. In Gwalior, 34 acres of land has been provided free of cost by the State Government for the sports complex being built for the differently-abled at a cost of Rs 170 crore.

 

Union Minister Thawarchand Gehlot congratulated Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for being the first in the country to issue identity cards to Divyangjans. It was informed in the meeting that against the target of 6,7,313 set by the Government of India, 5,97,170 persons with disabilities have been issued identity cards.

 

Gehlot said that Madhya Pradesh has been the first in the country to give identity cards to transgenders. It is commendable. On the basis of the identity card, financial assistance was also provided to the transgenders twice during the Corona Curfew period. It was informed that on January 8, 2021, identity cards were first issued to transgender persons by Bhopal Collector.

 

 

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, while having meeting Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thawarchand Gehlot, said that 33.43 lakh beneficiaries are being benefited in state under Indira Gandhi National Old Age and Widow and Disabled Pension Schemes run under social assistance programme. Out of these, 11.38 lakh beneficiaries are being paid pension by the State Government.

 

He also requested for payment of pension amount by the Central Government for these 11.38 lakh beneficiaries. He requested Central Government to release the approval of Rs 81.7 crore at the earliest for the construction of ramps and lifts etc in the government buildings of state for the convenience of the Divyangjans. He said that budget allocation proposals for District Divyang Rehabilitation Centres approved for 24 districts of the State have been sent to the Central Government. Divyang Rehabilitation Centres are useful and beneficial for the differently-abled. He requested to sanction budget for the rehabilitation centres for Divyangs in all 52 districts of state. Giving consent to this, Union Minister Thawarchand Gehlot instructed to send the proposal to the Government of India in a week. CM said that only dedicated and service-oriented self-help organisations should be entrusted with the responsibilities related to the welfare and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities. The review of the status of the beneficiaries of the centres run by the voluntary organisations should also be ensured regularly. Social Justice and Disabled Welfare Department Minister Prem Singh Patel, Chief Secretary Iqbal Singh Bains, Principal Secretary, Social Justice and Disabled Welfare, Prateek Hajela, Commissioner of Disability welfare Sandeep Rajak and other officers were present in the meeting.