Chief commissioner for persons with disabilities Kamlesh Kumar Pandey today stressed the need for states to appoint commissioners with independent authority to address the welfare of persons with disabilities.
Addressing reporters here, Pandey said only 15 states have full-time commissioners. The Union Territory of Puducherry did not have a full-time commissioner, only additional charge was assigned to an official to be the commissioner, he noted.
"I discussed this with the chief secretary to Puducherry government Manoj Parida," he said stressing the need for independent and full-time commissioners.
He said the office of the chief commissioner for persons with disabilities was set up in September 1998.
The chief commissioner said that to ascertain availability of benefits to the persons with disabilities and to hear their grievances, mobile courts were arranged in different parts of the country, along with the commissioners.
Forty-one mobile courts have so far been set up in 22 states, including Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
He said the department of empowerment of persons with disabilities was in the process of issuing unique disability ID cards for universal recognition of such persons.
Pandey has been here since yesterdayto review the implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
Deputy chief commissioner for persons with disabilities, Sanjay Kant Prasad and secretary to department of social welfare S Sundaravadivelu were among those present.
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