Physically disabled Bettiah man wins twenty-six months fight for disability pension

A physically disabled man who was deprived of his entitlement won twenty-six-month fight to get a disability pension.

Vyas Padit won this battle when Caritas India Saksham Project staff with the Committee members jointly met BDO, Ramnagar block and submitted the application for disability pension.

The Government of India provides several benefits and facilities to the citizens with disabilities based on the type and extent of disability. However, these entitlements are allowed only if the Person with Disability (PWD) have appropriate authentication with a disability certificate or equivalent.

For several years Vyas Padit, 41, a physically disabled man and He is 41 years old and a member of Pragati Kisan group from Ward 4 of Dholkarha Panchayat in Ramnagar block tried accessing the disabled pension scheme but he could not succeed in getting the benefit due to lack of disability certificate.

He approached the Gram Panchayat chief Gauri Shankar Prasad and Sarpanch Paras Saha to seek support in getting his disability certificates, but he only received assurance.

Duty bearers at Local level play an important role in providing access to the community for entitlements and Government scheme. These officers are primarily responsible for supporting the community in getting benefits for the scheme. But Nowadays influencing Duty bearers is not an easy task for an individual.

In the farmer group’s monthly meeting Vyas raised his plea which was taken by the competent project Animator. His issue was taken seriously by the members and was sent to the District Disabled Rehabilitation Centre, Red Cross, Bettiah, where he received his disability certificate within a week. Thereafter, the competent workers submitted his disability pension scheme application along with all the certificates in Ramnagar block on 23/03/2018, which was approved on 06/08/2018.

Unfortunately, since the disability certificate approval, he did not receive any pension. After lock-down, the staff met him in August and realise that he had not received any instalments of his pensions.

The Project staff with Committee members then took him with them to Ramnagar block to meet BDO  and narrated the whole story. In September, he received all the pending 26 month’s pensions of Rs 400/month which was Rs 10400. He and his family members are very happy and humbly thanked the Saksham project workers.

This is one of the success story showcasing a different approach to make human rights relevant and actionable with the support of local authorities.