Enhancing participation of Differently Abled under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA

1. District MGNREGA Cell JALPAIGURI Enhancing participation of Differently Abled underMahatma Gandhi NREGA

2. VULNERABLE GROUPS • Persons with Disabilities • Primitive Tribal Groups • Nomadic Tribal Groups • De-notified Tribes • Women in Special circumstances • Senior citizens above 65 years of age • HIV positive persons • Internally displaced persons

3. DISABILITY As per The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 Disability means • Blindness • low vision • leprosy-cured • hearing impairment • locomotor disability • mental retardation • mental illness

4. DISABILITY As per the National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999 • "autism" means a condition of uneven skill development primarily affecting the communication and social abilities of a person, marked by repetitive and ritualistic behaviour • "cerebral palsy" means a group of non-progressive conditions of a person characterised by abnormal motor control and posture resulting from brain insult or injuries occurring in the pre- natal, peri-natal or infant period of development; • "Mental Retardation" means a condition of arrested or incomplete development of mind of person which is specially characterised by subnormality of intelligence; • "Multiple Disabilities" means a combination of two or more disabilities as defined in clause (i) of section 2 of the Person with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 (1 of 1996)

5. Paragraph 9.3 of Mahatma Gandhi NREGA The disabled or differently-abled persons defined under the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 (1 of 1996) as persons with disabilities, the severity of which is 40% and above would be considered as special category of vulnerable persons for the purposes of MGNREGA. The disabled persons as defined in the National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999 (44 of 1999) are also to be considered as disabled for the purpose of inclusion in MGNREGA.

6. MANDATE OF THE ACT • Enhancing the livelihood security of the poor households in rural areas of the country can be met only if special attention is focused on vulnerable sections of the rural society • Providing a strong social safety net for vulnerable groups under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA, extra efforts need to be made for certain special categories of vulnerable people who will otherwise remain excluded.

7. Caring for Differently Abled Poverty is both a cause and consequence of disability. Majority of people with disabilities find their situation affects their chances of going to school, working for a living, enjoying family life, and participating as equals in social life. This in turn leads to increased economic and social vulnerability and exclusion. This exclusion affects not only the individual, but the entire family as well. For example, caring for the disabled is usually unequally shared and most often falls on female family members. Caring for a child with a severe disability further increases the workload of women living in extreme poverty, and takes valuable time away from the daily struggle to make a living. More often than not, families of persons with disabilities are amongst the poorest of the poor. Poor people with disabilities are thus caught in a vicious cycle of poverty and disability, each being both a cause and a consequence of the other

8. A large proportion of disability is preventable and is linked to poverty and lack of access to basic health and nutrition. Thus, a strong focus on poverty alleviation and human development could lead to a general improvement in living conditions of the poor, which in turn, could in itself prevent prevalence of disability. However, specific steps are still required, not only for prevention, but also to ensure that people with disabilities are able to participate fully in the development process, obtain a fair share of the benefits, and claim their rights as full and equal members of society. An integrated approach is required, linking prevention and rehabilitation with empowerment strategies and changes in attitudes.

9. HOW TO INITIATE ? • Identify differently abled person already registered under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA. • Mobilize them to come together as a group. However, no individual with disability would be denied work where efforts to form a ‘group’ does not succeed • Identify specific (exclusive & inclusive) works which can be done by the differently abled person • Depending upon the demand works could be opened specifically for the differently abled • Ensure a stigma free environment at the work place

10. WORKS MAY BE SUITABLE FOR DIFFERENTLY ABLED • Drinking water arrangement • Helping in looking after children • Plantation • Sprinkling water, putting pebbles • Land leveling • Transferring the mud from pits to another site • Filling soil

11. Do remember • Such people should be instructed sequentially, properly and slowly. They can produce good work once they have understood it well. • Train them patiently. • Such people may be good at assisting and supporting others.

12. Let us work as a synergic team… • To come together is beginning • To work together is progress • To finish together is success LET US COME, WORK & FINISH TOGETHER

13. Status (2012-13) of differently abled registered under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA

27. Status (2013-14) of differently abled registered under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA

28. DO REMEMBER…….Where the poor participate as subjects and not as objects of the development process, it is possible to generate growth, human development and equity

30. Thanks…