Article 14 of the Constitution guarantees that no
person will be denied equality before the law. The State
is directed to provide relief and help to the disabled and
the unemployable, vide Entry 9 in List II of the Seventh
Schedule. Article 41 states that the State shall, within
the limits of its economic capacity and development,
make effective provisions for securing the right to
work, to education and to public assistance in cases of
unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement.
Additionally, there are four legislations specifically
directed towards the protection, welfare, rehabilitation
and development of people with disabilities—the Mental
Health Act, 1987; Persons with Disabilities (Equal
Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation)
Act, 1995; the National Trust for Welfare of Persons with
Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple
Disability Act, 1999 and the Rehabilitation Council of
India Act, 1992. In addition to the legal framework, a
comprehensive National Policy for Persons with Disabilities
has been announced in February 2006. focus of the new Programme is
to make certain that
benefits of various schemes/programmes flow equitably
to the minorities. For this, it quantifies a certain portion
of development projects to be established in areas with a
concentration of minorities. It stipulates that wherever
possible, 15% of targets and outlays under various schemes
will be earmarked for the minorities. All Central ministries/
departments, State Governments/UT Administrations
have been advised to implement this new Programme.
Five Central Ministries—HRD, Labour and Employment,
Housing and Poverty Alleviation, RD and Women and
Child Development—have been given responsibilities in
their respective areas. The procedure for monitoring the
outcomes of these multiple initiatives is clearly laid out.
It will be done on a half-yearly basis by the Committee
of Secretaries (COS) and the Cabinet. MMA is the
nodal Ministry for coordinating and monitoring the
implementation. The key elements of the monitoring
will be: (i) focus on meeting financial targets; (ii) target
oriented monitoring based on a plan of achievable
outcomes under each programme and Ministry;
(iii) outcome targets to be staggered and time-bound,
and monitored accordingly; (iv) regular evaluation
studies conducted by both MMA and by external expert
evaluators; (v) space for concurrent evaluation through
existing, identified institutions in key target States; (vi)
focus on regular and accurate information flow from
District to State to Centre; (vii) focus onsmooth fiscal
flow and regular identification of bottlenecks; and (viii)
flexibility for review and revision of programme designs. Though
the Constitution does not make specific
provisions for OBCs, it empowers the State to make
provisions for reservation in appointments or posts in
favour of any backward class of citizens which, in the
opinion of the State, is not adequately represented in the
Services under the State [Article 16(4)]. It also empowers
the State to appoint a commission to investigate into
the conditions of socially and educationally backward
classes (Article 340). In pursuance of the Supreme
Court judgment, Indira Sawhney and Others vs Union of
India (1992),
the National Commission for Backward
Classes was set up on 14 August 1993 under the National
Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993. Thus, after
46 years of independence of the country, the backward
classes or OBCs got recognition as a separate group of
people for the purpose of 27% reservation in services in
the GoI and public sector undertakings. The States/UTs
were free to decide the quantum of reservation based on
the OBC population in their State/UT. All State
Governments/UT Administrations were also directed by
the Supreme Court of India in the same case to set up a
permanent body and to draw up their own list and decide
the quantum of reservation as per their demography. The issues in
tribal development are complex and often not understood very well. Each of the
nearly 300 main tribal groups differ from each other in customs, practices,
traditions, faith, and language. As such, uniformity in socio-economic
development plans for all tribal groups and programmes is not appropriate. Vast
quantities of data, generated at various geographical sites
across the country, lie scattered, unanalysed and unused.
They need to be processed and stored meaningfully in
a tribal data bank. The programmes and schedules of
the 18 State Tribal Research Institutes (TRIs) in the
country demand coordination and synergy. The issues
of scheduling and de-scheduling of communities have
assumed national importance and need to be appraised
rationally and dispassionately. All these point to the need
at the Central level for a National Institute of Tribal Affairs
(NITA) to deliberate on these matters as also on a whole
range of other issues. NITA will serve as a think tank to
the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Expeditious steps will be
taken to set up NITA. Thus, the debate ignited by
L. R. Naik that had a potential to expand the principle of social justice and
root out the practices of social discrimination from Indian society was
abruptly
disbanded. The discourse which had a scope for making some progressive
legislation
was prematurely abandoned citing a judicial interpretation of existing laws as
an
excuse. The legislative process of the nation lost another opportunity. Thus,
nomads
and
the denotified tribes so far have been deprived of justice and have not availed
the
benefits
of the socialism and democracy. Inclusive
growth demands that all social groups have
equal access to the services provided by the State and equal
opportunity for upward economic and social mobility. It
is also necessary to ensure that there is no discrimination
against any section of our society. In India, certain social
groups such as the SCs, STs, OBCs and Minorities have
historically been disadvantaged and vulnerable. Then there
are certain other groups which may be discriminated
against and which suffer from handicaps. These include
persons with disabilities, older persons, street children,
beggars and victims of substance abuse. Our Constitution
contains various provisions for the development of such
marginalized groups, for instance, Article 341 for SCs,
Article 342 for STs, Article 340 for OBCs, Article 30 which
provides the right to minorities to establish and administer
educational institutions, and so on. Their individual and
collective growth, however, cannot be ensured without
improving their surroundings and providing clean
drinking water, toilets and educational opportunities. The
prevailing gaps in socio-economic status
between SCs, STs and other disadvantaged groups vis-àvis
the rest of the population need to be speedily bridged
by taking innovative measures. As a first step, there is a
need to assess the gaps between SCs and other social
groups with respect to various parameters of growth and
development and construct an index of development/
vulnerability/deprivation on the basis of which policy
and programme interventions can be formulated and
administered. State governments, Central ministries/
departments and public authorities are to be made
accountable for purposeful and affirmative action within
their jurisdiction to bring about overall development of
the people belonging to SCs/STs and to bridge the gaps
between their and other social groups. The proposed
legislation should cover assessing the gaps between SCs/
STs and other social groups, constructing suitable indices
and providing appropriate intervention in the areas of
education, higher education including vocational training
and employment for bridging the gaps on a lifetime
capacity building basis. The legislation should also provide
for appropriate penalty for non-performance of the
obligations created by it. It should be adopted by all the
States to implement it in its letter and spirit. Action may
be taken on the lines of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal
Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation)
Act, 1995
No comments:
Post a Comment