"Delhi govt will be first in India to provide substantial assistance to persons with high special needs": Saurabh Bharadwaj

New Delhi [India], October 22 : After the AAP government decided to provide Rs 5,000 monthly assistance to disabled persons, Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Tuesday credited former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's 'treasury of honesty' as the vision behind the scheme and said that the Delhi government will be the first in India to provide substantial assistance to persons with high special needs.
Earlier today, in a landmark move aimed at supporting persons with special abilities, the Aam Aadmi Party government announced a monthly financial assistance of Rs 5,000 for individuals with high special needs in Delhi.
"The Delhi Government already provides pensions to over 1,20,000 individuals whose disability exceeds 42 per cent. Now, persons with over 60 per cent disability, as verified by medical certificates and UDID cards, will be eligible for a Rs 5,000 monthly pension," Saurabh Bharadwaj said.
Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj has issued necessary directions for this initiative to be immediately implemented.
Saurabh Bharadwaj highlighted the global context, stating that as per the World Health Organization (WHO), 15 per cent of the world's population is dealing with some form of disability. Out of this, around 2-4 per cent of people have such severe disabilities that they fall into the category of high special needs," he said.
He explained that while the term 'disability' may have a negative connotation, there is a growing shift towards referring to individuals with disabilities as "persons with special abilities."
However, he clarified that since the government's policies are derived from Legal Acts, the official terminology remains 'persons with disabilities' as per the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act.
He urged the media to be more considerate in their language, requesting that they refer to such individuals as "specially abled persons" in their reports.
The Minister shared that according to the 2011 Census, approximately 2,44,882 people in Delhi are specially-abled.
"Based on WHO estimates, we have assessed that around 9,500 to 10,000 individuals in the city are considered to have high special needs," he added.
Saurabh Bharadwaj explained that the Delhi Government already provides pensions to around 1,20,000 specially-abled individuals with disabilities exceeding 42 per cent. Individuals with a medical certificate and UDID card are entitled to the pension.
"Now, under the guidance of Arvind Kejriwal, it has been decided that many of these people need additional support, and hence, the government should extend more help. Therefore, the government decided to increase its support for them. When this file came to me two weeks ago, I wanted to know which states are providing assistance to persons with high special needs under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016," he added.
He pointed out that Tamil Nadu is the only state currently offering financial assistance to individuals with high special needs, providing Rs 1,000 per month.
However, he emphasized that this amount is insufficient and that Delhi is now stepping up to set a new standard.
"Following discussions, the Cabinet decided yesterday that the Delhi Government will offer Rs 5,000 per month to such individuals," Saurabh Bharadwaj said.
He added that the government will soon open registrations for eligible individuals, who will need to have a medical certificate confirming a disability of over 60 per cent. Once verified, these individuals will be entitled to receive Rs 5,000 per month in financial assistance.
Saurabh Bharadwaj stressed the importance of timely implementation and said that they have already instructed the department to roll this out immediately.
"We have already instructed the department to roll this out immediately, and I believe that after this, the elected government of Delhi will be the first in the country to offer such substantial financial support to our specially-abled people with high needs," Bharadwaj said.
In a pointed response to criticism from opposition parties, Saurabh Bharadwaj stated, "The Bharatiya Janata Party says that the Delhi government is running a deficit, but under your rule in 22 states, none of you had the courage to do anything for these people. The elected government of Delhi, despite your conspiracies, remains dedicated to helping those who truly need government support. This is the treasury of the honest, elected government of Delhi - it grows every day and never runs a deficit; it only increases."
This decision, passed by the Cabinet in its latest meeting, makes Delhi the first state in India to provide such significant support to this vulnerable section of society.