Mumbai: BMC clears grant of Rs 56,000 to the handicapped for special scooters

In a firstofitskind scheme the civic body will be granting aid to people with disabilities in order to make their commute across the city easier The BMC will give 75 of the cost of the vehicle or Rs 56000 whichever is cheaper The BMC has come up with eligibility criteria and will be putting this up on its website as well as in newspaper advertisementsThe scooter will have special side wheels attached to itInterestingly such a provision exists in the Person with Disabilities Act 1995 where section 42 states that the government shall by notification make schemes to provide aid and assistance to persons with disabilities and thus such citizens should be given scooters with rear sidewheelsThe eligibility of the applications will be decided by a committee that will be headed by additional municipal commissioner city The civic body has evaluated the cost of several scooter brands and decided on an average of R56000 as grant to such citizens The amount will be directly credited to their bank accounts And according to BMCrsquos estimate more than 1000odd citizens are likely to be benefited through this schemeSome of the eligibility criteria are that the persons with disability should not have a permanent government semigovernment or private job The annual family income should be up to R3 lakh or less Those with disabilities should be living within BMCrsquos jurisdiction and should have a legal sidewheel driving licence issued by the RTO One of the important clauses under this scheme also includes that the disabled person cannot sell off the vehicle without BMCrsquos consent If they do they would have to pay back the grant amount to the BMCPrabhakar Shinshyde BJP corporator and standing committee member said It is important to set up certain riders so that people donrsquot misuse the schemeA senior civic official said We wanted to ensure that the commute of these inhabitants of the city should be smooth and thus we are making it easier for them to buy any scooter of their choice and install side wheels and we will pay 75 of it or R56000 whichever is less We will put up advertisements and publish it on our website to invite people to take advantage of this scheme