Action on the Trust Act in Karnataka

Karnataka has set-up 13 district level committees for appointing legal guardians for persons with disabilities. Called local level committees (LLC), they aim at providing legal security to the property of the mentally challenged. The LLCs have been formed following the National Trust Act for the Welfare of Persons with the four disabilities, passed by the Parliament, which led to the formation of the Trust.

Ms Aloka Guha, chairperson of the National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and multiple disabilities informed that the activities of the committee included receiving applications for guardianship, screening them and appointing legal guardians to the children afflicted with these four disorders. The committee comprising the collector or deputy commissioner, one disabled person and a member of a registered organisation working in the disability sector, functions under the office of the Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities. Ms Meera Saxena is the current commissioner.

Earlier the committees were only in urban cities. We wanted to break this mould in order to cater to the disabled in the rural areas who form a large number. Now, of the total 574 committees, 155 have come up as LLCs in the last one year. The Trust has also proposed to start a Care Givers scheme and respite centres. As many as 215 organisations have shown interest in starting respite centres. The centres are meant for the parents/guardians of the disabled children to attend social obligations, which otherwise the mother of a severely afflicted child cannot afford to.

Ms. Guha has urged the NGOs working in the area of the above mentioned four disabilities to apply for grant-in-aid to the trust for the schemes formulated for long term care and rehabilitation of the disabled. As many as 12 information centres have come up in the country where 17 publications and other literature are available in 13 languages.

Printed material on National Trust Act and its schemes is available at the Commissioner's Office for Disabilities. Interested may contact No 40, Thambu Chetty Road, Cox Town, Bangalore. Ph: 5482639/5482641.

Source: Panels formed for legal security of the disabled. The Deccan Herald December 15, 2001, Bangalore, India