Odisha to move Indian Railways for leprosy colony land

BHUBANESWAR: The State government will seek approval from Indian Railways for the regularisation of four leprosy colonies in Khurda, Balasore and Puri following a directive by the Orissa High Court. The four colonies - Lewis leprosy colony at Balasore, Sanjayjee leprosy colony at Puri and Dharabati leprosy colony and Bapujee leprosy colony at Khurda are located on railway land.  The Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SS&EPD) department has asked Collectors concerned to take steps for approaching the Ministry of Railways after consultation with the Housing and Urban Development department.

“We would first seek the approval of the railways for regularisation of the colonies. In case this does not materialise, the colonies will be relocated to other areas in the respective districts,” said an official of the department. Hearing a PIL filed by the general secretary of State Leprosy Welfare Federation Bipin Bihari Pradhan for effective implementation of the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP), the High Court had asked the SS&EPD department to set up a monitoring committee. The department was asked to ensure proper implementation of the works and schemes for rehabilitation of cured leprosy patients in 13 colonies in the State.

The State government has provided land to 12 colonies, located in urban areas of Khurda, Puri, Cuttack, Jajpur, Jharsuguda, Balasore, Mayurbhanj and Sundargarh districts under ‘Jaga Mission’. It has also been decided to introduce skill development programmes in the colonies to support the inmates.

“The colonies will be further developed with additional amenities and infrastructure. One colony is located in the rural area of Bargarh and is being taken care of by the Panchayati raj department. A sub-committee, formed in Bargarh has been asked to expeditiously assess any further requirement there,” said the official.

Meanwhile, Jajpur Collector has been asked to ensure that basic amenities are provided to the leprosy colony located in forest areas of the district by the end of December. He has been allowed to relocate the inmates to a suitable place and allocate houses to the cured leprosy patients in their respective villages or in a common area as per their convenience. The State that reports around 10,000 leprosy cases annually has around 87 leprosy colonies with over 8,000 inmates. Every year around 10,000 patients are discharged.