BHUBANESWAR: The State government has decided to extend the ‘Bhima Bhoi Bhinnakhyama Samarthya Abhiyan’ scheme for persons with disabilities (PwDs) for five more years up to 2025-26. Launched in 2016-17, the scheme is aimed at creating an enabling environment to ensure equal opportunities, equity, social justice and empowerment of PwDs with focus on population at the grassroots level.
Besides rehabilitating PwDs and creating facilities for providing them high-tech rehabilitation services, the scheme also promotes individual and group initiatives by the PwDs for self-employment and other socio-educational services.
The Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) has approved further extension of the scheme with an estimated cost of Rs 139.25 crore to be implemented by the Social Security and Empowerment of Persons With Disabilities (SSEPD) department.
After the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 enhanced disability categories from 7 to 21, a national survey of 2018 estimated that 3.2 per cent (pc) of population in Odisha are PwDs, which is the highest in country.
“This has enhanced the need for continuance of the scheme. Though it was successfully implemented till 2018-19, targets were not achieved in next three years due to enforcement of model code of conduct and outbreak of Covid-19,” said an official of Finance department.