Odisha Govt authorises 14 Medical Colleges to issue unique disability identity cards

According to The Times of India, the step has been proposed in view of the large backlog of pending applications across the state. In a communication to the concerned authorities, Parul Patawari, Director of the Department of Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, said the Health and Family Welfare Department has recommended the inclusion and registration of 14 government medical colleges and hospitals to carry out assessment and issuance of UDID cards, which is expected to significantly ease the process for beneficiaries.

Superintendents of the medical colleges and hospitals will be responsible for issuing UDID cards. They will get credentials to log into the Swabalamban portal, and on the basis of it, the assessment and the registration of PwDs will be done for the generation of UDID cards. “Govt of India was written for issuing more login credentials per hospital for the generation of UDID cards to facilitate the early disposal of pending applications, which was categorically denied. Hence, it was decided to authorise the medical colleges and hospitals to act as a medical board for the issuance of the UDIDs,” the letter read.

The list of medical colleges and hospitals that will get to issue UDID cards includes SCB Cuttack, MKCG Berhampur, Vimsar Burla, Fakir Mohan MCH, Balasore, Saheed Laxman Nayak MCH, Koraput, Bhima Bhoi MCH, Balangir, Dharanidhar MCH Keonjhar, Saheed Rendo Majhi MCH Kalahandi, Jajati Keshari MCH, Jajpur, Pandit Raghunath Murmu MCH, Baripada, Govt Medical College, Sundargarh, Shri Jagannath MCH, Puri, Pabitra Mohan Pradhan MCH, Angul, and Govt Medical College, Kandhamal, reports The Daily. 

Previously, only district social security officers were invested with the only issuing authority of UDID cards, and the assessment and generation of IDs were done during special district, block, and panchayat level camps. Now, with medical colleges designated as the issuing authority, the backlog will be cleared quickly, officials said. Odisha secured the third rank in the country after Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra with the highest number of pending UDID applications. The largest number of pending applications can be found in districts such as Balasore, Ganjam, and Cuttack, followed by Bhadrak, Balangir, Jagatsinghpur, and Keonjhar.