The Andaman & Nicobar Islands Disability Allowance Scheme

What is the Andaman & Nicobar Islands Disability Allowance Scheme?

The Andaman & Nicobar Islands Disability Allowance Scheme is a Union Territory scheme implemented by the Directorate of Social Welfare, Andaman and Nicobar Administration. Its stated aim is to provide financial assistance to the differently abled unemployed persons with 40 per cent or more disability in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The scheme has a clear paper trail. The Lieutenant Governor framed the original rules as The Andaman and Nicobar Islands Disability Allowances Scheme, 2010, notified on 21 October 2010, superseding all previous rules on the grant of financial assistance to persons with disabilities in the islands. It was made under Section 68 of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, read with the Ministry of Home Affairs notification of 5 December 1997.

The amount has been revised twice since:

• The Amendment Scheme, 2013, in force from 1 April 2013, set the quantum at Rs 2,000 per month.
• The A&N Islands Disability Allowance (Amendment) Scheme, 2018, in force from 1 April 2018, substituted that figure with Rs 2,500 per month.

Rs 2,500 a month is therefore the current rate, and the 2018 amendment is the operative notification.

Who is eligible for the A&N disability allowance?

A person qualifies if:

• He or she is a permanent resident of the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, or has resided in the Union Territory for more than 10 years at the time of making the application. For the purpose of residence, a Local Certificate or Islander Identity Card issued by the competent authority is considered; in the absence of both, a certificate issued by the Tehsildar of the respective Tehsil stating a stay of a minimum of 10 years in the A&N Islands suffices.
• The person is of age one month or more and has 40 per cent and above disability.
• The person is not employed anywhere.
• The person is not in receipt of any other financial assistance or allowance.

There is no income ceiling to avail this allowance. This is a deliberate departure from the Directorate's other three allowance schemes, where the common application form records a Rs 4,000 per month household income ceiling for Old Age Pension, Widow Pension and Destitute Allowance and states expressly that there is no income ceiling for persons with disabilities.

Who cannot apply or is not eligible:

• A person with less than 40 per cent disability cannot apply. The threshold is absolute.
• An employed person is not eligible, and a beneficiary who subsequently gets employment has the assistance stopped.
• A person already receiving another financial assistance or allowance is not eligible, and must swear an affidavit to the contrary.
• A person who is neither a permanent resident nor a 10-year resident of the islands cannot apply.
• A child under 18 who is receiving a scholarship implemented by the State Institute of Education, Directorate of Education, is not eligible, the SIE certificate exists precisely to catch this overlap.

Note that the definition of disability follows the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 and the National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999, as revised from time to time and as further guided by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

How much is paid, and for how long?

• The quantum of disability allowance is Rs 2,500 per month, subject to eligibility.
• The financial assistance sanctioned is payable to the disabled person until his or her death, subject to the conditions in the rules.
• The allowance becomes payable from the month following the one in which it is sanctioned. There is no back-payment to the date of application.
• Payment is made through the bank account on a monthly basis.
• Assistance is stopped on the death of the disabled person. If the person dies before receiving assistance for a particular period, that amount lapses.

The 2013 amendment also recorded how the UT allowance interacts with the central Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme: a BPL beneficiary under IGNDPS receives part of the total from the central scheme and the balance from the UT scheme, so the beneficiary sees one combined entitlement rather than two separate pensions.

What documents are required?

The affidavit is worth reading before signing. In it the deponent declares that the particulars are true, that he or she is not in receipt of any other financial assistance, allowance or grant from any other source and is not employed anywhere, that he or she will refund the entire amount to the government if the information proves wrong at any time, and that he or she will intimate the Director, Social Welfare of any change in address or employment status within 15 days of such change.

How to apply for the A&N disability allowance

The scheme is applied for offline. The Directorate of Social Welfare does not publish an online submission route for the disability allowance.

1. Get the application form. It is available free of cost at the Directorate of Social Welfare, Goalghar, Port Blair, and at the sub-divisional offices of the CDPOs. It can also be downloaded from andssw1.and.nic.in/socialwelfare.
2. Obtain or renew the disability certificate from the competent medical authority, showing the nature of disability and the percentage. Check the date, the certificate must be current, and it is renewable every five years.
3. Fill in the form, ticking option (d) Disability allowance at serial 1, and complete serial 11, which asks for the nature of disability with percentage.
4. Swear the affidavit on non-judicial stamp paper of not less than Rs 2.
5. Get the SIE certificate if the applicant is under 18 years of age.
6. Attach the enclosures — disability certificate, local or domicile certificate, Aadhaar card, bank passbook copy, photograph and community certificate if claimed.
7. Submit the application at the office of the concerned Child Development Project Officer, located at Port Blair, Ferrargunj, Rangat, Diglipur or Car Nicobar.

How the application is verified and sanctioned

1. The application is verified by the Mukhya Sevikas, with the countersignature of the concerned CDPO.
2. The CDPO forwards it to the Director (Social Welfare).
3. The Director (Social Welfare), A&N Administration is the sanctioning authority, and passes orders on each case on the basis of the recommendation of the Screening Committee.
4. Once sanctioned, the allowance becomes payable from the following month.

Why disability allowance claims get stopped

• Disability certificate expired. The five-year renewal rule catches long-standing beneficiaries who assume the certificate is permanent.
• Percentage below 40. A certificate recording 30 or 35 per cent does not qualify, however genuine the impairment.
• Beneficiary took up employment. The rules state plainly that assistance is stopped if the beneficiary gets employment, and the affidavit obliges the beneficiary to report it within 15 days.
• Another allowance being drawn, including an SIE scholarship in the case of a child under 18.
• Residence not established because neither the Local Certificate nor the Islander Identity Card was produced and no Tehsildar's certificate was attached.
• Sanction obtained on a mistaken ground or on false information, which the Director (Social Welfare) may cancel at any stage.

Key facts to remember

• Current rate: Rs 2,500 per month, effective 1 April 2018.
• Minimum disability: 40 per cent. Minimum age: one month. No upper age limit.
• No income ceiling: unlike the other three Directorate allowances.
• Payable until death, but stopped on employment.
• Disability certificate renewed every five years.
• Changes of address or employment status must be reported within 15 days.

Help and grievance redressal

• Directorate of Social Welfare, Goalghar, Port Blair 744101
• Telephone: 03192-233356
• Email: director-sw@and.nic.in
• Your CDPO office at Port Blair, Ferrargunj, Rangat, Diglipur or Car Nicobar

The Andaman and Nicobar Administration has also been appointing a Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, and the Directorate publishes the relevant press notes on its website. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules, 2019 for the islands are published there as well.

No fee is charged for the application form or for the sanction of the allowance.

How to check your application status

The Directorate of Social Welfare does not run an online tracking portal for the disability allowance, so status checks happen the same offline way the application was filed.

1. Go back to the Child Development Project Officer where the form was submitted, at Port Blair, Ferrargunj, Rangat, Diglipur or Car Nicobar. Carry the acknowledgement or a copy of the submitted form so the office can trace the file quickly.
2. Ask the Mukhya Sevika or CDPO office staff whether the application has been verified and forwarded to the Director (Social Welfare). This is the first stage every application passes through, and most delays happen here if a document is missing or the disability certificate needs re-verification.
3. If the CDPO confirms the file has moved on, the next stage is with the Director (Social Welfare) and the Screening Committee that recommends sanction. At this stage, contact the Directorate directly rather than the CDPO.
4. Call or write to the Directorate of Social Welfare, Goalghar, Port Blair 744101, on 03192-233356, or email director-sw@and.nic.in, quoting the applicant's name, the CDPO office where the form was filed, and the approximate date of submission.
5. Watch the bank account, not a portal, for confirmation. Since there is no SMS or online status page, the practical sign that an application has been sanctioned is the first monthly credit, which starts from the month following sanction. If several months have passed since submission with no credit and no update from the CDPO or Directorate, it is worth visiting the CDPO office in person to ask whether the file needs a fresh document or has been held up in verification.

Because sanction depends on a Screening Committee recommendation rather than an automated workflow, processing time can vary between the five CDPO jurisdictions. Following up directly with the office where the form was submitted, rather than waiting, is the only reliable way to learn where an application stands.