On-ground issues – Seva Setu’s advocacy efforts

Through a series of posts, we will write on issues which come up in implementing well-meaning schemes of the government. We want to pick each case and dive deeper into it. This effort will be accompanied by advocacy attempts on-field, by meeting officers in the departments concerning these discrepancies. We want others in this field, who’re finding their own way through these little hurdles, to be able to learn as much from our experiences, efforts, and mistakes.

We will cover the following topics and programs:

• The curious case of the affidavit: Applying for a disability certificate entails a common man to submit a proof of residence and two photographs. However, we face an unusual requirement in some of the blocks we work in – the requirement to file an affidavit in addition to these documents. Officials at some district hospitals (where disability certificates are prepared) demand an affidavit signed by a public notary which confirms (once again) the identity of the person. The process to acquire such a certificate doesn’t even require the beneficiary to be physically present. What’s worse, notaries charge 200 INR per affidavit that’s provided. This requirement of an affidavit is not mentioned in any official document and are now fighting tooth and nail to remove this process.
• Assessment of differently able people: The department of empowerment of persons with disabilities lays out guidelines to assess the differently able. These parameters are used to provide certificates by the government, which are then used as documents to provide benefits such as pensions etc. What we’ve found in our work, however, are seemingly unjustified decisions being made by medical boards when they assess a person’s disability. Does this point to subjectivity in the guidelines, a lack of sufficient training regarding the guidelines or more?
• Shortage of equipment: Most of our visits to the composite regional centers, those centers which disburse equipment to the differently able, almost always are short of the equipment needed. We don’t have an answer to why this is the case. We also observe that the popular model used by the government in disbursing such equipment is by conducting camps. Why is this the case? Why is there a constant shortage in the equipment required to be present at the CRCs?
• Mental health: Diagnosis and treatment of mental health related illnesses remain to be unexplored in Indian healthcare. Unfortunately, there seem to be a disproportionately small number of rehabilitation centers, places which serve as care homes for those with mental illnesses, in India. Why is the number this low? What should be the right number? We discuss some challenges in our on-field work in this space.