STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: In a landmark legislation, the State Administrative Council on Thursday approved the ‘Jammu and Kashmir State Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 2016’.
This important piece of legislation will provide much awaited relief, respite and cheer in the lives of those, who are grappling with such disabilities.
The State Trust has been designed and devised on the lines of National Trust, whose jurisdiction is not extended to J&K. The Trust will be governed by a Board of Trustees comprising: a Chairperson, who will be a person of eminence, having expertise in the field of autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, health, child development or related fields. This board shall also contain other official and non official members.
Non-official members will be from associations of trade, commerce and industry engaged in philanthropic activities; Registered organizations/ voluntary organizations; Associations of persons with autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation.
One representative of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India has also been incorporated in the Trust, to leverage the expertise and resources of this Ministry.
The SAC directed that immediate steps be taken to accelerate the constitution of the Board of Trustees. The Trust will be underpinned by a Corpus of Rs. 5 crore, and it will be eligible for grants from the Government /private by way of donations, benefactions or endowments. The functional attributes of the Trust, will unfold, through a number of interventions and schemes like.