Himachal to spend Rs 5.4 cr on allowance for disabled

Shimla, Jun 1 (UNI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today said his government will spend a sum of Rs 5.40 crore on providing handicapped relief allowance of Rs 200 a month to 21,393 physically challenged people in the state.

He said the government had provided a grant of Rs five lakh from the chief minister's relief fund for the distribution of mobile PCOs to five physically challenged people of Shimla district.

Mr Singh handed over the Reliance mobile PCO tricycles in association with Delhi-based Ehsaas Foundation, which came forward to create employment avenues to improve quality of life of the physically challenged.

Over 3,000 new cases of physically challenged relief allowance were sanctioned by the state government during the previous year.

Keeping in view the state's difficult terrain, motorised PCOs would be provided in future, he said.

The chief minister said the government would allow the mobile PCO tricycles to ply on restricted roads in Shimla.

Out of a total of 64,772 physically challenged people in the state, 43,620 have been issued handicapped identity cards provide them benefits under welfare welfare schemes, he added.

UNI AS HS VD RK2032