A Parliamentary panel has pitched in for inclusion of ‘dwarfs’ under the social security net so as to make them eligible for pension under the Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS) of the Union Rural Development Ministry.
Headed by BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, the 30-member lok Sabha panel noted that since the dwarfs who in most cases are unable to find employment do not come under the purview of National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), the ambit of the IGNDPS should be widened to include this category too.
Dwarf is generally described as a person with a usually genetic disorder resulting in atypically short stature and often disproportionate limbs. In its reply, the RD Ministry expressed its helplessness in doing so stating that the scheme was guided by the Persons with Disabilities Act 1955 and the National Trust for the Welfare of persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, mental retardation and multiple disabilities Act.
“At present, dwarfs have not been included in these Acts and if they are included they would automatically become eligible for pension under the IGNDPS on fulfilling other eligible criteria,” it said in the report tabled in lok Sabha on Tuesday.
However, this did not amuse the panel which asserted that the RD Ministry must take up the matter with the Social Welfare Ministry in right earnest “so that necessary amendments are affected in the concerned Acts so that dwarfs become eligible for pension.”