Chennai, Jan 21 (BPNS)
Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) working in the disability sector have demanded the government of Tamil Nadu to withdraw circular issued by the Commissionerate for the Welfare of Person with Disabilities asking all persons with the NGOs in the sector to get a police verification report.
The circular was issued on January 13 and states that all persons working with NGOs engaged in the welfare of persons with disabilities in the sections of education, protection, training, and rehabilitation should produce a police verification certificate stating that there were no cases against them.
The original police verification certificate be submitted to the NGO they are working with and the copy handed over to the district Disability welfare officer.
The Confederation of Association for persons with mental disabilities has asked the state government to withdraw this circular. The organization which has 300 members in the statement said, “ We have been working for the past twenty years with full financial support and total government recognition for the past twenty years. Some of our members have been serving the most marginalized of people for the past four decades.”
The General Secretary of the organization, M. Ravichandran while speaking to BPNS said, “ We demand stringent action against any employee of a special school who has indulged in unlawful activity. However, it is really painful to find that an entire community is being branded as criminals or people with suspicious track records. We are into service for the most vulnerable people of the society and the police verification certificate is not in the good interest of those we are serving and the government should withdraw such a circular as early as possible.”
Tamil Nadu Association for the Rights of All Differently Abled and Caregivers (TARATDAC) also came out strongly against the circular. In a statement issued on Friday, the organization said, “ The government can insist on NGO’s to produce certificates but if each individual working as caregivers or special educators with such organisations are asked to produce individual certificates, it will make people believe that all employees are criminals.”
The general secretary of TARATDAC, S . Namburajan said that most of the employees who are in this sector and working among the differently-abled people are working for a passion and for genuine love and has been rendering service at high odds. He also said that several organizations that work in this sector are enabling countless families to earn their livelihoods by taking care of their children requiring high emotional and basic life help support.
