It’s yet another government-appointed committee that appears quite content seeking extension after extension to complete its work. This, despite having outsourced the main task before it — to draft a new disability law — to a legal consultant for a hefty fee at the expense of the public exchequer.
India’s differently-abled have been waiting impatiently for long for fresh legislation that may help protect and promote their rights better.
But the expert committee constituted by the Union ministry of social justice and empowerment appears to be in no hurry to frame the new law.
In the meantime, by April 11, the government had incurred an expenditure of a whopping `86,81,810 by April 11.
This was revealed in its response to an RTI application filed by the National Centre for the Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP).
The expenditure was incurred by the Pt. Deendayal Upadhyay Institute for the Physically Handicapped which comes under the social justice ministry.
Of the amount money doled out by the government until March 31, a whopping `6,80,000 was by way of consultancy fee to NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad until March 31 who is the legal consultant appointed by the expert panel.
This isn’t the only payment the ministry is shelling out to NALSAR. A whopping `2,50,000 has also been already paid to it by the ministry by way of “payment of (sic) stationery etc. and TA/DA of other staff of NALSAR who are engaged for work of drafting the new legislation”, says the ministry response to the RTI.