Question : Assistive Devices for BPL Senior Citizens

(a) whether the Government proposes to launch a scheme to provide senior citizens living below the poverty line with walking sticks, spectacles, hearing aids and other such assistive devices;

(b) if so, the details thereof along with the number of districts proposed to be covered and the estimated number of beneficiaries under the scheme, State-wise;

(c) whether the Ministry has written to all Chief Ministers to identify beneficiaries in their respective States/districts;

(d) if so, the details thereof and the response of the State Governments thereto; and

(e) whether any Committee has been set up to identify the beneficiaries and if so, the details thereof?

MINISTER OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT
(SHRI THAAWARCHAND GEHLOT)


(a) to (e) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.



Statement referred to in reply to parts (a) to (e) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. *79 to be answered on 07.02.2017

(a) & (b) : Yes, Madam. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment proposes to launch a ''Scheme for providing Physical Aids and Assisted Living Devices to Senior Citizens belonging to BPL category'' in all districts. Under the Scheme, Assisted Living Devices namely, hearing aids, artificial dentures, walking sticks, elbow crutches, walkers, tripods, quadpods, spectacles and wheelchairs of high quality and conforming to the standards laid down by the Bureau of Indian Standards, wherever feasible shall be provided to the eligible Senior Citizens belonging to BPL category, suffering from age-related disabilities/ infirmities. Initially, the Scheme will be launched in two districts of all the States as well as in NCT Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Island and Puducherry and in one district each of remaining UTs covering approximately 1000 beneficiaries in each district of each State/UT. The estimated total expenditure of the Scheme, upto the Financial Year 2019-20, is Rs. 478.44 Crores.


(c) to (e): Yes, Madam. Chief Ministers/ Lieutenant Governors of all the States/ UTs, have been addressed in this regard. Responses from the Chief Ministers/ Lieutenant Governors of Gujarat, Haryana, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Tripura, Maharashtra, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi have been received in the Ministry, till date.

A Committee as under has been proposed to be constituted by the respective State/ UT for selection of beneficiaries, implementation and monitoring of the Scheme:-
(i) Deputy Commissioner / Collector of the District or in the case of a Municipal Corporation, the Commissioner of the Corporation.
(ii) Representative of the State Agency as nominated by the State Government for the purpose.
(iii) Chief Medical Officer (CMO)of the District.
(iv) District Social Welfare or Deputy Director (Social Welfare)/ Joint Director or equivalent at the District level handling the matters relating to Senior Citizens.
(v) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Zilla Parishad.

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