Jamshedpur, June 22: After kudos from the Centre, Jharkhand has now earned its official tag of the state with the best grievance redress model for the disabled in India.
State disability commissioner Satish Chandra, who attended a recent review meet in New Delhi, told reporters on Thursday the Jharkhand model ' it converges conventional modes of redress with new-age mobile courts and awareness camps ' has been adopted at the national level.
Chief commissioner for persons with disabilities P.K. Pincha chose the Jharkhand model during the meet at Vigyan Bhawan, Delhi, on June 13-14, asking disability commissioners of the other states to adopt the same.
Between 2008 and 2011, the state disposed of 9,414 out of 10,095 complaints through commission offices and mobile courts, a feat that was lauded by Union minister for social justice and empowerment Mukul Balkrishna Wasnik.
"The challenges were huge and we needed to look for a way which speeded up redress. There was a huge backlog of unresolved complaints. I gave an inaugural presentation in Delhi. P.K. Pincha was impressed and sent letters to all the other states asking them to follow our model," said Chandra, who has penned a Hindi book that is awaiting publication on the success stories of the state with the disabled.
Considering the varying problems faced by persons with disabilities, fast track mobile courts were instituted to address their complaints, which range from denial of service on the grounds of incapacity and denial of admission in school to non-acceptance in various fields of life.
At present, there are 4 lakh registered persons with disabilities in Jharkhand.
Grievance redress camps have been regularly organised in all the 24 districts of the state. Chandra said that East Singhbhum would soon hold a similar camp to redress fresh complaints in July-August.
"The best part is that the camps are by the disabled, for the disabled and of the disabled. I am present during the camps to ensure that middlemen do not harass the complainants. It makes the process transparent and smooth. We will continue to conduct more such camps," said Chandra.
Jharkhand is set to form a state core committee for monitoring disability which will be led by the minister of social welfare and comprise people from industry, media, academia, judiciary and NGOs.