The wait for the Unique Disability Identity (UDID) card — the single document of identification and verification of the disabled to help them avail various benefits irrespective of their domicile status — has got longer. The Centre’s plan to issue them the card has been hit by the apathy of States Governments which have been dillydallying in providing the detailed data on beneficiaries.
In the absence of adequate data, UDID cards cannot be issued to the sector, said sources in the People with Disabilities (PwDs) department of the Union Ministry of Social, Justice and Empowerment. This has prompted the Ministry to postpone the launch of the card several times since the announcement of the scheme last year.
According to the sources, of the estimated 2.70-crore disabled population in the country as per the Census 2011, so far data of just 35 lakh beneficiaries from 10 States have been received by the Ministry and that too is incomplete.
Gujarat tops the list in submitting the data of the disabled people of 13 lakhs, followed by Uttar Pradesh (9 lakhs), Madhya Pradesh (5 lakhs), Tamil Nadu (3 lakhs), Maharashtra (2 lakhs), Kerala (1.7 lakhs), Haryana (1 lakhs), Tripura (70,000), Chhattisgarh (50,000) and Jharkhand (18,000).
Incidentally, Rajasthan, Telangana, Odisha and Punjab have not even started submitting the details of their disabled residents.
“We have been constantly writing to the States to provide complete details such as photo, type and extent of disability among a few other requisite informations so that the scheme can be launched at the earliest,” they said.
The UDID card, to be linked with Aadhaar number, will do away with the need to maintain and carry multiple documents by the differently-abled people. The card will have all the necessary details that can be decoded with the help of a reader.
It will also help in streamlining the tracking of the physical and financial progress of beneficiary, said Joint Secretary (Persons with disability Department) AK Awasthi. He added that the card will also enable the beneficiaries to avail common services.
Unlike the disability cards issued by the States, which are restricted to States only, the universal cards would be applicable across the country.