How do we prepare for 2015-2016

Budget of Tamil Nadu?

Prepared by
 Response to Tamil Nadu Budget

2014-2015

Responsiveness of the State

Budget towards implementation of

the Convention on the Rights of

Persons with Disabilities an

analysis.
Content

1. Introduction

2. Department for the Welfare of the Differently Abled

3. Education

3.1 Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

4. Health

5. Rural Development & Panchayat Raj

5.1 Member of Legislative Assembly Community Development Fund

5.2 Indira Awaas Yojana and Chief Ministers Green House Scheme

6. Annexure

1. Break up of expenditure

7.
Summary
Article 4 of the United Nations Convention on The Rights of Persons with Disabilities
obligates the States Parties, to implement the convention across the federal structure and
has also obligated the utilisation of maximum available resources. It has been 7 years since
the ratification of the convention. Through this exercise of analysing the responsiveness of
the resource allocation, policies and programmes of the Government of Tamil Nadu, we are
producing a baseline to engage with the policy makers and decision makers and prepare
ourselves for placing our demands for the 2015-16 budget.

In this report we analyse the programmes related to persons with disabilities and for
programmes for which data disaggregation is available from the lens of utilisation of
maximum available resources.

The schemes and programmes for persons with disabilities are implemented through the
Department for the welfare of the differently abled, department of school education,
department of health and family welfare, department of rural development. Therefore, these
departments are analysed for understanding whether the mandate to utilise maximum
available resources has been fulfilled.

In order to understand whether maximum available resources has been utilised, we

analysed the design of the programme / scheme, coverage of all persons with disabilities
without any distinction, efficiency in utilisation of the resource already allocated,
effectiveness of the programme itself in terms of the purpose, evolution, output and outcome
(whether there is any change in the level of participation of persons with disabilities in the
community and in the standard of living of persons with disabilities).

The following are some of the outcomes of the report

Department for the welfare of the differently abled:

1. The too many schemes implemented by the department itself makes it inefficient.
2. Spending on programmes that are cross sectoral in nature example: education of
children with disabilities, skill development and employment generation, access
etc,., which is anyways part of the responsibility of the line departments and thus
limiting the realisation of these rights of persons with disabilities only to a welfare
measure
3. Spending on programmes that are in gross violation of human rights and
fundamental freedoms example running institutions and homes.
4. Lack of evaluation of the programme - analysing the output and outcome.
 Department of School Education

1. The responsibility towards children with disabilities in only towards fulfilling the
mandates of the Union Government ex: SSA, IEDSS etc. When ever there is
insufficient funding, the State do not take the responsibility to fill up the gap
towards implementation of RTE.
2. The State also promotes exclusive practices like home based education
especially for children experiencing high restriction in participation.

Department of Health

1. More than 75% of the resources are earmarked for running and maintaining
the Institute of Mental Health
2. Lack of general and specific health care for persons with disabilities.
3. Lack of accessibility of the health care facilities for persons with disabilities
4. Zero expenditure on training and sensitisation of health care professionals
workers on the rights and health care needs of persons with disabilities.

Rural Development and Panchayat Raj

1. Lack of clarity of rules on who benefits, whether the family of persons with
disability or the persons with disability themselves.

2. Lack of data on persons with disabilities living below poverty line which has a
direct impact on persons with disabilities accessing the programme.

3. There is no utilisation of Member of Legislative Assembly Community

Development Fund (MLACD) since 2010-11.

5. The expenditure on Labour and employment is a clear duplication as the

entire resource is planned towards the staff of special employment exchange,
which is not required as a programme. Instead the resource could be used for
reasonable accommodation in workplace, employment drives etc,.

Chapter 1 Introduction
Tamil Nadu is one of the southern states of India. The population of Tamil Nadu as per
census 2011 is 72,147,030 Million and ranks 6 th in the country in terms of density of
population. Tamil Nadu ranks 3rd in terms of development as per the Raghuram Panel report
based on Multi dimensional Index for calculating developmenti.
Tamil Nadu is the second largest contributor to the national GDP. 72% of the revenue is
generated out of the States own taxes. The States spending on social services amounts to
38% of the revenue expenditure, 20% on economic services, 33% on general services and
9% on grants-in-aid and contributionsii.

Persons with disabilities constitute 1.76% of the population of Tamil Nadu iii. Table showing
the comparison of census figures with census 2001 Tamil Nadu

Particulars 20011 2011 Percentage

decrease
Total 16,42,497 11,79,963 28.16
Males 7,91,685 6,57,418 16.96
Female 8,50,812 5,22,545 38.58

The table above shows a decrease in the population of persons with disabilities in the State
of Tamil Nadu compared to the census 2001. There is a decadal decrease of 28.16 % in the
population. Census 2001 indicated that the population of persons with disabilities is more
among females compared to that of males. There is a decadal decrease of 38.58% among
females and the population of persons with disabilities among females has gone down
compared that of among males in 2011.

Apart from this there is a lack of data on the growth and development of persons with
disabilities in Tamil Nadu. The survey to develop Human Development Index carried out by
the Department of Planning and Development did not include criteria to understand the
development of persons with disabilities.

As per Vision 2023 document of Tamil Nadu, the issues of persons with disabilities are
proposed to be dealt under a care plan for elderly and differently abled iv. The document
does not reflect the perspective to view the issues of persons with disabilities as cross
sectoral and development.

The analysis of the budget documents across various departments revealed allocations for
protection and promotion of rights of persons with disabilities are made under the head
Welfare of the Differently Abled by the departments of Health, Education, Food and
Cooperation, Municipal Administration and the nodal department, Department for the
Welfare of the Differently Abled. The spending by the Department of Rural Development
and Panchayat Raj and that of Revenue could not be culled out as the data is not
disaggregated.

1
Table 1: Total Allocations made specifically for Persons with Disabilities by the Government of Tamil
Nadu.

Particulars(Amo 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

unt in
Thousands and
in Rs)
Dept. for the 104,10,54 177,72,36 214,59,74 239,55,25 299,97,82 284,28,72
welfare of
differently abled
Department of 41,94 4,00,49 7,62 1,39,10 4,42,07 17,29
School
education
Department of 2,13 2,60 7,00 10,17 11,10 14,32
Higher
Education
Department of 19,64,53 28,61,86 25,76,40 26,38,29 33,25,85 38,64,25
Health & Family
Welfare
Department of 22,30 23,37 39,79 30,21 33,63 36,68
Labour &
Employment
Public 18,65 97,10 68,47 3,87,67 5,28,96 2,13,02
Department /
Building
Department of 25,00 5,00 90,00 90,00 1,00,00 1,00,00
Cooperation
(Cooperation
Food &
Consumer
Protection)
Municipal Nil Nil 1,37,00 Nil 81938 1
Administration
Total Budgeted 124,62,79 211,62,78 243,86,02 278,77,48 305,84,82 326,59,86
Expenditure
specific to
persons with
disabilities
Total 69403,60, 105813,90, 100173,69, 120491,28, 140420,94, 150,785,26
Disbursements 00 00 07 66 75 ,91
of Gov. TN
% of allocations 0.15 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
specific to
persons with
disabilities to
total
disbursements
Source: Demand for Grants, 2013-14 Government of Tamil Nadu

From the above table it is obvious that there is no change in the percentage of overall
allocation towards protecting and promoting the rights of persons with disabilities as
compared to the total disbursements of the Government. It is maintained at 0.2% of the total
disbursement since 2010-11.
Chapter 2 Department for the Welfare of the Differently
Abled
The department for the welfare of the differently abled was initiated by the government of
Tamil Nadu in the year 2009-10 in order to support full and equal involvement of persons
with disabilities in every aspect of society. Welfare of persons with disabilities was a part of
the Department of social welfare and nutritious noon meal prior to the formation of the
department. This department is implementing 56 schemes towards habilitation and
rehabilitation of persons with disabilities, Special Education and Skill Development, Social
Security, rehabilitation homes and institutions, accessibility and aids and appliances,.

Chart 1 showing the allocation made by different departments towards expenditure related to persons with disabilities

Municipal administration
2014-15
Department for food and
cooperation
2013-14
Public Department
Department of Labour &
2012-13 Employment
Department of Health &
2011-12 Family Welfare
Department of Higher
Education
2010-11
Department of School
Education
2009-10 Department for the welfare
of the differently abled
0 1000000 2000000 3000000 4000000

Source: Demands for grant, Government of Tamil Nadu

The allocation to this department contributes 86% of the total allocation made
specifically for protecting and promoting the rights of persons with disability. This
makes it obvious of fact that the issues of persons with disabilities are not seen
as cross sectoral and as a development issue. (refer Chart 1 above). The major
allocation of the department goes for social protection programme called the
maintenance grant. We will analyse the design of this programme for its
compliance to the mandate of the CRPD in the following sections.

The analysis of the allocation for the year 2014-15 of the department revealed
the following:

1. 59.17% of the total allocation is towards social protection programmes

such as maintenance grant, travel allowance.
 2. 17.08 % of the total budget is planned to be spent on special schools /
special education and institutions for persons with disabilities.
3. 15.44% on habilitation and rehabilitation and 2.44 % on early intervention
by way of grants in aid to different governmental and non-governmental
organisations
4. 2.64%, 0.13%, 0.21%, 0.88% and 0.04% is earmarked for education
scholarships, skill training, access and assistive devices, employment and
self employment initiatives and sports respectively.

The following chart 2 facilitates an understanding of the allocation for the

various components by the department:

2014-15
Maintenance of Secretariat & commissionerate Special Schools

Skill Training Rehabilitation

0.88 2.3 0.04 0.01 1.63

17.08
Access & Assistive devices Education Allowance

0.13

Social Protection Employment

15.44 and SelfEmployment

59.17 0.21

Early Intervention 2.64

Grants to Sports

Food Grant

Source: Demand No.52 of Government of Tamil Nadu

From the figure above it could be understood that there is no plan to allocate for the
provision of reasonable accommodation.

It is imperative to mention here that nearly 2.5 million is spent on prevention of polio, which
is a prerogative of the department of health and should not be the mandate of this
department that is established to promote the rights of persons with disabilities. This is in
violation of Respect for difference and acceptance of persons with disabilities as part
of human diversity and humanity - Article 3 General Principles of CRPD.

Utilisation of Maximum Available Resources Article 4 of

UNCRPD

Check list to ensure utilisation maximum available resources as mandated by

UNCRPD: Ref: Booklet on Use of Maximum Available Resources by IBP.

1. Design of the programme should be in lines with the mandates of UNCRPD.

2. The programme should ensure protection and promotion of all rights of all
persons with disabilities.
3. Efficiency in spending
4. Effectiveness of the programme

Through this section, an analysis of whether the programmes of the department fulfil the
mandate to utilise maximum available resources is carried out.

1. Design of the programme: As per chart 2 above, we find that major portion of the
allocation is towards social protection, special schools and rehabilitation of persons
with disabilities. Therefore, it is felt the need to analyse the design of these
programmes.
a. Social protection programme: 59.17% of the total budgeted expenditure is
planned towards disbursing maintenance grant, marriage allowance & travel
allowance. Off this major portion of the resource is planned to be spent on
maintenance grant. The criteria for availing this benefit include, severity of
impairment, an understanding that the beneficiary cannot be rehabilitated by
any other assistance. These criteria violates the provisions of respect for
evolving capacity, social protection leading to social participation, continuous
improvement of living conditions and clause c to provision 2 of article 28 of
the convention.
b. Special Schools: The second largest spending by the department is on
special schools for persons with disabilities. The resources for education of
children with disabilities earmarked by the welfare department when the
school education department is in-charge of education all children and
has huge allocations to implement the mandates of Right to Free &
Compulsory Education for all Children with schools for every 1 km
radius. This not only reaffirms the perspective of Government for not
viewing the rights of persons with disabilities as a human rights and a
developmental issue but also the violation of article 24 of UNCRPD.
Though schools for children with visual impairment and deaf children follow
regular curriculum, the funding for infrastructure, administration and human
resources, are earmarked from the welfare department. This is violation of the
concept of utilisation of maximum available resources. In case of children with
intellectual disability who are part of the special schools, there are no plans
to ensure growth and development. This is observed, as children who
are part of this system for major part of their schooling do not get even
a certificate recognised by any of education / skill streams run by the
Government themselves. It is to be noted that the allocation is increasing
over since 2011-12.This clearly indicates that the government does not
want to phase out this system of exclusionary practice.
Chart 3 showing the trend in allocation for special schools as a percentage to total allocation for the
department

Special Schools
20
15.31 17.08
13.78
15
15.04 Special Schools
10

0
2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

Source: Demands for Grant, demand no 52 Government of Tamil Nadu

Further analysis of spending under this head reveals that major portion is
earmarked towards salaries, allowances and administrative costs, which
should ideally be part of the department of school education. The following
chart 3 gives a clear picture of the same:
 10.94 3.3
0 Sal & All
0.07 Admin
0.86 Travel
Training
Direct
GIA
83.82

c. Rehabilitation: 15.44% of the resources of the department are earmarked for

rehabilitation of persons with disabilities. 63% of the total allocation for
rehabilitation is towards running institutions and rehab centres from persons
with intellectual disabilities, psychosocial disabilities, persons with muscular
dystrophy and persons who are cured of leprosy. There is no clear exit policy
for Persons with disabilities enrolled in these institutions. This is in violation
of the freedom of choice of ones own living arrangement, personal
liberty and movement. This is in violation of Article 19 Living
Independently and being included in the Community of the convention.
Persons with disabilities who live in these institutions are denied of
their civil and political rights as well. The expenditure towards this
programme in total will not lead to utilisation of maximum available
resources.

2. Cross cutting nature of the Schemes and programme: Article 4 of the convention
obligates the State parties to to ensure and promote the full realization of all human
rights and fundamental freedoms for all persons with disabilities without
discrimination of any kind on the basis of disability. The schemes of the department
are planned in such a way that:
a. Schemes looking at skill development, higher education, scholarships,
assistive devices and access are designed in such a way that they benefit
only persons with visual impairment, Deaf and persons with locomotor
impairment whose severity is less than 75% as per their disability identity
card.
b. Persons with intellectual impairment, severe disabilities (more than 75%
as per the disability identity card), persons with muscular dystrophy and
 persons who are cured of leprosy have access to the maintenance grant.
One of the criteria for availing this benefit is assumption of cannot be
rehabilitated under any other schemes except in case of persons with
muscular dystrophy. This assumption/ criteria is in violation of the
principles of UNCRPD as there is assumption of incapacity. Persons with
psychosocial disabilities are not included to be benefitted out of this
programme.
c. Institutions, rescue and rehabilitation, special schools and sheltered
workshop are the only option for persons with intellectual and
psychosocial disabilities.
d. Even with the programme the criteria is different for different
constituencies of persons with disabilities. For example: Travel
concession Persons with visual impairment can avail for a travel of
100 kms within the district, persons with other impairments can avail
only for travelling from home to the educational institutions/ training
centres/ hospitals and back within the district.
3. Efficiency in spending: Underutilisation of funds allocated could be observed
in schemes such as marriage allowance for persons with visual impairment,
unemployment allowance, self employment programmes, skill development
programmes, salary grants to special schools (has a direct impact in the quality of
service delivery), early intervention centresv. The analysis is done till the financial
year 2012-13 based on the availability of data.
4. Effectiveness of the programmes: The purpose, objective, evolution and output
and outcome of the programmes decide the effectiveness of the programme and thus
the resource allocation. The evaluation of the schemes of the department reveals
the following:
a. 39 out of the 60 schemes have been initiated before 2007 i.e before the
country ratified UNCRPD. Off which 28 schemes were initiated more than
20 years before the ratification of the convention.
b. The aim of the department is to provide comprehensive welfare services
c. The purpose of the schemes that consume major portion of the resource
is to provide for the maintenance of persons with disabilities with the
assumption of lack of evolving capacity, raise awareness and
motivate normal persons to marry persons with disabilities. These
schemes are initiated in the year 1987-88.
d. The evolution of these schemes post ratification of the convention is only
in terms of enhanced allocation, inclusion of persons with muscular
dystrophy and persons who are cured of leprosy. The evolution has
not been as envisaged by article 28 of UNCRPD, which looks at
 improving the standard of living of persons with disabilities, social
participation, compensating the equity cost etc,.
e. 67% of the allocation of the department goes in implementation of these
programmesvi.
f. Based on the interview with key Government officials it was found that
there is no performance evaluation of these schemes in terms of
effectiveness. The performance document of the government only talks
about the financial utilisation and physical coverage.
g. During our interview with the key government officials and during our
focus group discussions across various districts of the State it was shared
that the maintenance grant, travel allowance and the scholarship
programmes are considered to be effective as these schemes ensure
some dignity for persons experiencing high restriction in participation
some dignity within the family. It was obvious that though these schemes
are considered to be effective there is no visible improvement in the
standard of living of persons with disabilities.

Case Study:
I would like to avail the self employment loan to do some business. But
one of the eligibility criteria for availing the self employment loan is that I
should not be receiving the maintenance grant. But I am also very scared
to lose the regular money that I receive by way of this grant and so am not
applying for any other programme of the Government.
As shared by a person with disability from Ooty

Conclusion

It has been 7 years since the ratification of the convention. The mandate on States parties
on the applicability of the convention across federal structure as per Article 4 is yet to take its
first steps in Tamil Nadu. The schemes of the department as analysed in the previous
sections clarifies the need to utilise maximum available resources apart from initiating new
schemes for implementing the provisions of the convention in order to protect and promote
the rights of all persons with disabilities. It is recommended:

1. The Department shall engage in the analysis of effectiveness of its programme in

consultation with persons with disabilities. Provide for Social Audit similar to the
programmes of the department of rural development and panchayat raj.
2. Reframe the existing programmes to implement the provisions of the convention. For
example the maintenance grant shall be changed to allowance for meeting the equity
 cost and shall take into account the extent of restriction experienced by persons with
disabilities.
3. The department shall function as a focal point for other departments in order to ensure
recognition of the cross cutting nature of the issues of persons with disabilities.
4. Programmes providing for reasonable accommodation, transition from institution to
community living arrangement shall be initiated.

Chapter 3 Department of School Education

There is no allocation made by the State through this department towards the education of
children with disabilities. The allocation for Inclusive Education for the Disabled at the
Secondary Stage (IEDSS) is a centrally sponsored programme. There is no contribution by
the State and therefore we do not analyse the programme here. However, the State
contributes towards the implementation of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) programme of
the Government of India.

Through this section we analyse the utilisation of maximum available resources of the SSA
programme.

3.1. SSA

3.1.1 Design of the programme:

Children with disabilities identified through the programme are enrolled in the
neighborhood schools. In Tamil Nadu though all children with disabilities are enrolled
in the neighborhood schools, they are segregated in programmes such as children
going to inclusive schools, day care centres, residential bridge course and home
based education (HBE). Mostly children with disabilities experiencing high
restriction in participation are restricted only to day care centres and home
based education. This is in violation of Article 24 of the UNCRPD. (d) Persons with
disabilities receive the support required, within the general education system, to
facilitate their effective education;(e) Effective individualized support measures are
provided in environments that maximize academic and social development,
consistent with the goal of full inclusion Article 24 (2)

It is to be noted that there is no academic curriculum plan or social

development plan for children in home based education programme. This is a
segregated plan only for children with disabilities.
The assumptions for the home based education programme at the State are: a.
Children are not educable, b. children in HBE are those who cannot even speak and
get up from their bed. c. It is enough for special educators to go once in 15 days to
each childs house and train in basic living skills like brushing and taking bath.

- As shared by key government official

Table 2 showing the perspectives on HBE at different levels of implementation

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It is also observed that there is no consistency in planning and implementation

across various levels of planning and implementation.
The data shared by the SSA Project Office Tamil Nadu revealed that number of
children in the home based education programme is increasing except for the year
2011-12.
Chart 4 showing the trend in enrollment of children with disabilities under HBE

State - Tamil Nadu

30000
25000
20000 State - Tamil Nadu
15000
10000
5000
0
2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13
 Source Information- Figures: Shared by the office of SSA Project Office Tamil Nadu

3.1.2. Efficiency in spending

Table 3: showing the overview of allocation and expenditure under Inclusive Education in the State of Tamil Nadu
Year GOI Share (Rs. States Share Total (Rs in Expenditure
In Crore) (Rs in Crore) Crore) (Rs in Crore
2009-10 9.215778 4.962342 14.17812 13.0222
2010-11 25.37117 13.66140 39.03257 30.02775
2011-12 26.67249 14.35211 41.03460 38.4773
2012-13 23.77082 12.79968 36.57050 32.9866
2013-14 16.51721 8.89389 25.41110 4.4886(till
November
2013)

SSSource: Response to the application filed under the Right to Information Act and the information collected from
SSA project office Tamil Nadu.

The table above explains that the State, in the past five years has never been able to
spend the entire allocation and has not been performing with 100% efficiency and
there has been inconsistency in their capacity to spend. The table above also
reaffirms the fact that the spending as against allocation in the year 2013-14 is only
17% approximately till the third quarter of the financial year.

3.1.3. Effectiveness of the programme

The effectiveness of the programme depends on the purpose, evolution, adequacy of

resource allocation, quality of spending and the outcome envisaged.

The purpose of the programme is to ensure quality elementary education of all

children between the age group of 6 to 14 years in the neighbourhood. This is
programme is evolved as a vehicle to implement the Right to free and compulsory
elementary education of all children between 6 to 14 years Act 2009. An analysis of
the inclusion of children with disabilities reveals the following:

Inadequacy in allocation: The following figure explains the inadequacy in allocation

Chart 5 showing the comparison between the allocation to be made against the allocations made based on per child
component
 50

40
Amount to be
30
allocated
20 Actual Amount
allocated
10

0
2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14

Source of information Documents shared by SSA project office Tamil Nadu & the response to the application filed
under the Right to Information Act 2005

The analysis of the figure above shows that amount to be allocated and the actual
allocation matches during the years 2010-11 and 2011-12, which is better than the
overall performance of the country. Having said that it is important to note the
decreasing trend in allocation as compared the allocation based on per child
component and has reached 50% approximately in the year 2013-14. This has a
direct impact on the utilization of maximum available resources.

The analysis of the components of expenditure under the inclusive education

programme shows thatvii:

1. 5% of the total allocation goes for conducting medical camps and training
of teachers on inclusive education. In order to maximize the utilization of the
existing resources, this allocation should ideally be made by the health
department and the teachers training component of the education department
and should not be sacrificed out of the child component of this programme.
2. 52% of the allocation is made towards payment of salaries for special
teachers and other rehabilitation professionals. Here again child component
is sacrificed over the staff salaries, which is anyways part of the overall
expenditure of the programme.
3. Only 6% of the total allocation is made towards assistive devices for children with
disabilities.
4. 24% of the total allocation is towards alternative education programme
including school readiness programme, which include day care centres and
home based education programme. This is in violation of the provisions of
Article 23 of UNCRPD.

The assessment of the outcome of the programme facilitates to understand that

children experiencing high restriction in participation are only part of the home
based set up and thus amounts to discrimination.
Conclusion and recommendation

The above discussions lead us to a logical conclusion that education of children with
disabilities is not part of the agenda / priorities of the Department of School Education. There
is no recognition accorded to implementation of the Constitutional mandate when it comes to
children with disabilities.

It is recommended:

1. SSA should relook at the component wise allocation from the child component under
the Inclusive Education programme. Specific expenditure leading to effective
participation of children with disabilities in an inclusive setting should planned for
spending out of the child component. Expenditure on teachers salary shall be a part
of the general salary of staff paid out of the over all.
2. The fundamental right to education in an inclusive environment has to be recognized
and ensured for children with disabilities.
Chapter 4 Department of Health and Family Welfare

Table 4: Showing the allocation by the department towards persons with disabilities
Sub Headings 2012-13 % of 2013-14 % of 2014-15 % of
(amt in Total (amt in Total (amt in Total 1
Thousands 1 Thousands 1 Thousands of
of Rs) of Rs) Rs)
IMH 22,17,95 79.51 28,51,92 78.81 31,82,51 76.23
%
DMHP 1,65,33 5.92 2,01,42 5.57 2,07,84 4.97
%
Artificial Limb 1,45,51 5.22 2,51,08 6.94 2,65,97 6.37
Centre %
Setting up new 15,30 0.55 40,53 1.12 44,57 1.07
sub Centres for %
Artificial Limb
Welfare of the 2,45,16 8.79 2,71,40 7.50 4,7140 11.29
Differently %
Abled
OA School for -1 2,33 0.06 2,50 0.06
the ortho
Total 1 27,89,24 100 36,18,68 41,74,79 100

Total 27,89,24 0.49 36,18,68 0.55 41,74,79 0.59%

Expenditure
Towards
Persons with
disability
Total 5700,98,43 100 6581,51,13 100 7005,02,72 100
Expenditure of
DH&FW
Source: Demands for Grant, Government of Tamil Nadu

The table above presents the overall picture of the allocation made towards persons
with disabilities.

More than 75% of the expenditure towards persons with disabilities goes
to the running and maintenance of Institute of Mental Health with 1650
inmates and with a capacity of 1800 beds, which violate human rights
standards. Though IMH talks about community model, the resources are
spent on 2 clinics and a rehabilitation centre, which does not result in
promotion of community living. This is in violation of CRPD in Toto.

The District mental health programme has no resource allocation for

training and community based rehabilitation. The programme has also not
been scaled up to cover all the districts. Again this is a central sector
programme with 100% Union funding. The State has no agenda to
promote a community based model.

No effort has been taken by the government to look at accessibility to

general and disability specific health needs of persons with disabilities.

In this chapter we are not analysing maximum available resources as the

entire resource spent on Institution needs to be reframed and there is no
allocation as mandated by Article 25 of CRPD.

Recommendation

1. Reframe the entire resource allocation to institution to plan a transition plan to

promote community living and support arrangement.
2. Health insurance programme for persons with disabilities.
3. Habilitation and rehabilitation arrangement as close to the community so that
acquiring secondary impairments could be prevented.
4. Sensitisation and training of community health workers on the rights of persons
with disabilities.
Chapter 5 Department of Rural Development

Through this department social protection programmes such as housing and distribution of
assistive devices are implemented. This department also implements the NREGS and IAY
programmes of the Union Government.

There is no data available in the demands for grant document. The analysis is base on the
document collected through the information collected through the RTI Act and through direct
contacts with the key government officials and limited up to the financial years 2012-13.

In this section we analyse the utilisation of maximum available resources for the
programmes

a. Member of Legislative Assembly Local Area Development Fund (MLA CD) and
b. Indira Awaas Yojana & Chief Ministers Green House Programme.

5.1 Member of Legislative Assembly Local Area Development Fund (MLA CD)

In the state of Tamil Nadu this is the scheme with the largest resource for providing assistive
devices to persons with disabilities with an amount of Rs 11.7 crores.

5.1.1 Efficiency in Spending: The efficiency in spending is analysed in terms of

institutional bottleneck including coordination between agencies, utilisation of funds.

a. Institutional and Budgetary Bottleneck

Further analysis of the data from seven districts reveals the following:

1. a lack issuance of order for allocation of funds,

2. allocations not made for all the constituencies of the District,
3. in four Districts, allocations have been made for 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-
13, released to the DDAWO but the money has been spent only for the
year 2010-11
4. some of the districts have not utilised allocation for few constituencies at
the sub district level.

b. Lack of Coordination between Implementing Agencies

For the District of Chennai there are two offices responsible for the disbursement
of the funds the Collectors office and the Corporation of Chennai Office, their role
has not been clearly defined and there no system towards convergence for
accessing this amount. This could be one of the reasons for lack of allocation of
the MLACD amount for persons with disabilities in the District of Chennai.
 c. Utilisation of Funds
The table 5 below gives the aggregated allocation and expenditure for the years
2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 for the Districts of Tiruvallur, Chennai Villipuram
Trichy, Dharmapuri, , Sivagangai, Tuticorin, and Namakkal

Disrict Allocation in Lakhs Expenditure % of

expenditure

Chennai 00.00 00.00 ---

Tiruvallur 130.00 27.21 20.9%

Villipuram 170.00 60.00 35.29%

Namakkal 88.00 28.00 31.4%

Dharamapuri 75.00 75.00 100%

Sivagangai 75.00 24.97 33.2%

Trichy 135.00 135.00 100%

Tuticorin 95.00 55.36 58.2%

Total 843.00 405.54 48%

Source: Response to the application file under the Right to Information Act 2005

The table clearly indicates that there is an under-utilisation of funds as only

48.10% has been spent.

5.1.2 Quality of Spending

At the next level on looking at the type of aids and appliances that have been made
available over the last 3 yearsviii it can be observed that only some of the aids have
been designed to overcome the specific barriers faced by persons with disabilities.

This does not fulfil the provisions of Article 4 (g) mobility aids, devices and
assistive technologies, suitable for persons with disabilities.
 In the 6 focus group discussions we had several people mentioned that they had not received
scooters with side wheels attached, wheelchair, prosthetics, mobility aides despite having applied
for them over 2 years ago.

At Vilapakkam Panchayat village in Tiruvallur block one person reported that the prosthetic leg that
he had received from the DDAWO did not fit him well and further hindered his mobility. He is
managing with a worn out prosthetic.

A student attending a Government Primary School for four years had not yet received a
wheelchair.

A large portion of the MLACDS is tied to development of public amenities such as

modernisation of aganwadis, construction of school kitchens, provision of burial grounds
construction Bt roads and anganwadi kitchens, there are no rules mandating that they adopt
minimum standards and guidelines for the accessibility of these facilities. This does not
comply with the Article 9,1b and 2a of the UNCRPD

Conclusion & Recommendation

The huge unspent resources over a period of time is efficiently planned and utilised can
cater to a large section of population of persons with disabilities who experience restriction in
participation due to lack of availability of assistive devices and technology.

1. To reframe design of the scheme in order that all persons with disabilities have
access to appropriate assistive devices and technology
2. To clarify the role between the rural development department and the department for
the welfare of the differently abled towards the implementation of the scheme.
3. To involve persons with disabilities in the planning process.

5.2.1 Indira Awaas Yojana & Chief Ministers Green House Scheme

There are two schemes, one Indira Awaas Yojana Scheme (IAY), Central Sector Scheme,
with a mandated 75:25 centre state resource sharing, and the Chief Minister Solar Powered
Green House Scheme (CMSPGHS) fully funded by the State Government of Tamil Nadu to
provide basic shelter for persons living Below Poverty Line (BPL). Both the schemes are
supply driven schemes with financial physical target per year for State and or District fixed
by the Government of India and the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj,
Tamil Nadu respectively.
5.2.1 Design of schemes Selection of beneficiaries

Under IAY the process of selection mandated maintenance a list of persons belonging
SC/ST and BPL at the GP, there is no mention that such a list be maintained at GP for
persons with disabilities.
Similarly in CMSPGHS selection process priority is to be given to persons with
disabilities households having children with intellectual disabilities in the family.
Visits to the Districts and GP revealed that they do not maintain a population record
of persons with disabilities. At any point there no way of knowing how many people
with disabilities reside in a village leave alone a GP. This is the first barrier to persons
with disabilities to access the scheme.
One of the eligibility criteria for accessing the CMSPGHS is having a patta in
the person, given denial of legal capacity to some of the constituency of
persons with disabilitiesix in India restricts the access of this scheme to all
persons with disabilities
The requirement for selection for the scheme is that the Grama Sabha
approves the list with the names of the beneficiaries selected this is one window
available for people including people with disabilities to participate in this scheme.
If persons with disabilities are not heard in the Gram Sabha meetings then this
one opportunity for persons with disabilities to participate in this whole
process is closed.
5.2.2. Output and Outcome
The Chart 6 below indicates the central share and state share of the expenditure incurred under IAY towards houses
for persons with disabilities over three years.

Central Share
State Share

2010-11 2011-12 2012-13

Source: Response to application filed under RTI 2005 to the Department of Rural Development and
Panchayat Raj , Government of Tamil Nadu
We note that the State Governments contribution is higher towards this Centrally
Sponsored Scheme.

Clearly housing is one of the priorities of the state. This is further corroborated by the
fact the state Government has its own housing scheme

From the table 6 below we can see that in the state of Tamil Nadu the performance
has not been consistent with mandate 3% allocation for persons with disabilities as in
the IAY guidelines or in CMSPGHS

Year Total number of No. of houses Percentage

houses allotted for allotted for persons
the State with disabilities
IAY
2009-10 148929 5064 3.4%
2010-11 102939 2742 2.66%
2011-12 100553 4293 4.2%
2012-13 111410 2880 2.5%
CMSPGHS
2012-13 60,000 1510 2.51%

Source: Data shared by the Department of Rural Development. Government of Tamil Nadu

Lack of Clarity of Rules

For the CMSPGH no data on allocation of houses has been maintained. The
scheme does mention that priority needs to be given to persons with disabilities
and families of persons with intellectual disabilities. The reason given for this is
that there was no 3% reservation norm prior to 2012x.

In addition to this there is no clarity if the 2.51% includes allocation made to

families of children with intellectual disabilities along with persons with
disabilities.

Here we can observe that there is need to move away from the policy of earmarking
as one of the strategies of affirmative action towards ensuring equality of opportunity.
The entire social protection has to undergo transformation to ensure that all people
including all persons with disabilities enjoy all human rights on an equal basis with
others. We need to create a dynamic social protection floor that will cater to all
persons who experience different types of marginalization leading to socio-economic
vulnerability.
Monitoring and Evaluation Mechanism Weakness

At the State level there is no data available on the expenditure incurred towards
allotment of houses to persons with disabilities as the Monthly Progress Report
(MPR) format of the scheme does not include maintaining data on status of utilization
of funds sanctioned towards construction of houses of persons with disabilities.
Conclusion

The overall analysis of the programmes related to persons with disabilities of the
Government of Tamil Nadu reveals that the mandate to implement the provisions of the
convention has not seeped into the system, which should be the priority of the Union. We
find that the Government has failed to maximise the utilisation of 0.5% of the social
sector spending, which is approximately Rs. 3265million (54.42 million USD) allocated
specifically to persons with disabilities. This is only on the availability of
disaggregated data.

The mandate for utilisation of maximum available resources will only be fulfilled only if:

the design of the programme is in lines with the provisions of the convention
coverage of all constituencies of persons with disabilities is ensured
spending the entire resources
evaluating the effectiveness of the programme in terms of the purpose of the
programme, evolution and fulfilling the mandates of the programmes in terms of its
output and outcome and improvement in the level of participation and standard of
living of persons with disabilities.

Apart from this in order to implement the provisions of the convention and to protect and
promote the rights of persons with disabilities, there is a need to reframe the existing
programme and initiate new programmes.
i http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_Nadu

ii http://www.tnbudget.tn.gov.in/default.htm

iii http://www.forests.tn.nic.in/graphics/TN_Vision_2023.pdf

iv http://www.forests.tn.nic.in/graphics/TN_Vision_2023.pdf

v http://cms.tn.gov.in/sites/default/files/documents/welf.pdf

vi http://cms.tn.gov.in/sites/default/files/documents/welf.pdf

vii Ssa details 2014-15.pdf

viii Reply to application dated 03.04.13 filed to the Department of Rural Development
and Panchayat Raj, Government of Tamil Nadu under RTI Act 2005

ix Transfer of Property Act 1882 and National Trust Act 1995

xResponse to application filed under RTI Act 2005 to Department of Rural Development and
Panchayat Raj, Government of Tamil Nadu