Rehabilitation Treatment for the Disabled — Meghalaya

What is the Rehabilitation Treatment for the Disabled scheme in Meghalaya?

Rehabilitation Treatment for the Disabled is a state scheme of the Social Welfare Department, Government of Meghalaya, listed under the department's Disability Sector. According to the Meghalaya government schemes portal, the scheme has been operational since 1 April 2007, is 100 per cent state sponsored, and provides financial assistance to disabled individuals who lack the resources for medical treatment within or outside the state.

Two details in that description matter more than they look:

• The benefit is recorded on the portal as "Cash", so this is a money transfer towards treatment, not a hospital empanelment or a reimbursement card.
• The scheme explicitly covers treatment outside Meghalaya. Specialised corrective surgery, prosthetic fitting and neurological or orthopaedic rehabilitation are often available only in Guwahati, Kolkata, Vellore or Delhi, and travel plus treatment is exactly the cost this scheme exists to soften.

The Meghalaya government portal lists the beneficiary group as "physically challenged persons" and records no minimum and no maximum age, so a child and an adult with a disability are both within scope.

Who is eligible for rehabilitation treatment assistance?

You can apply if:

• You are a person with a disability resident in Meghalaya.
• You need medical or rehabilitation treatment: corrective surgery, therapy, prosthetic or orthotic fitting, or specialist consultation: inside or outside the state.
• You lack the resources to pay for that treatment yourself. The stated objective of the scheme is assistance to disabled individuals who cannot afford the treatment.
• You can produce a disability certificate from a competent medical authority. This is the standard gate for every Meghalaya disability benefit.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• You do not have a disability or cannot produce a disability certificate from a competent authority. A prescription or discharge summary is not a substitute.
• You are not a resident of Meghalaya. The scheme is 100 per cent funded from the state budget and is meant for the state's own residents.
• Your requirement is for something the scheme does not cover, such as a pension, a scholarship or a business loan. Meghalaya has separate schemes for each of those, listed further down this page.
• The treatment cost is already met in full by another government scheme or insurance. District offices will not sanction against a cost that is already covered.

The Meghalaya state portal does not publish an income ceiling or a Below Poverty Line requirement for this scheme. If your district office applies one, ask to see the instruction in writing.

What documents are required?

If you do not yet hold a disability certificate, get one before you apply. Meghalaya operates four Early Diagnostic and Intervention Centres at the civil hospitals in Shillong, Jowai, Nongstoin and Tura, and the Office of the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities carries the link for online application for the Unique Disability ID (UDID) card.

How to apply for Rehabilitation Treatment for the Disabled

Rehabilitation Treatment for the Disabled is an offline scheme. The Meghalaya government portal states that applications are made through the office of the District Social Welfare Officer.

1. Obtain a disability certificate from the competent medical authority in your district, if you do not already hold one.
2. Get the treatment advice in writing, a prescription, referral letter or cost estimate from the treating doctor or hospital, showing what treatment is needed and roughly what it will cost. If the treatment is outside Meghalaya, the referral is what justifies the out-of-state cost.
3. Visit the office of the District Social Welfare Officer in your district and ask for the application under the Rehabilitation Treatment for the Disabled scheme of the Disability Sector.
4. Fill the form and attach the documents: disability certificate, medical advice or estimate, residence proof, bank account details and any bills already incurred.
5. Submit the application and take an acknowledgement, noting the date and any diary number so you can follow up.
6. Follow up with the District Social Welfare Officer for sanction. Because the amount is decided case by case rather than at a published flat rate, the district office is the only place that can tell you what has been sanctioned.

How do I check the status of my application?

There is no online status tracker for this scheme. Check in this order:

1. The District Social Welfare Officer's office where you filed, using your acknowledgement or diary number.
2. The Directorate of Social Welfare, Government of Meghalaya, if the district office cannot say where the file has reached.
3. The Office of the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Temple Road, Lower Lachumiere, Shillong - 793001, which oversees disability schemes across departments in Meghalaya.

Why applications get delayed or rejected

• No disability certificate, or one issued by an authority that is not the competent medical authority.
• No written medical advice or estimate, so the district office has nothing to sanction an amount against.
• Out-of-state treatment with no referral, which is difficult to justify on file.
• Bank details missing or mismatched, so the cash assistance cannot be released.
• Cost already met by another scheme or by insurance.

What else is available for persons with disabilities in Meghalaya?

Rehabilitation Treatment for the Disabled covers the treatment cost. Several other Meghalaya benefits cover the rest of the picture, and it is worth applying for the right one rather than the nearest one:

• Chief Minister's Disability Pension Scheme, 2012: Rs 500 per month for persons with disabilities aged 18 to 59 residing in Meghalaya, paid quarterly through a post office or bank account.
• Aids and appliances under ADIP — wheelchairs, auxiliary and elbow crutches, white canes and hearing aids are provided free of cost.
• Scholarships and meritorious awards to disabled students; monthly assistance from pre-primary to postgraduate level, with a separate reader allowance for visually impaired students.
• Vocational training for self-employment, a one-year training programme with a monthly stipend, followed by a token relief grant of Rs 5,000 to start an income-generating activity.
• Halfway Home: rehabilitation facilities for treated and controlled mentally ill persons, run by the Social Welfare Department with NGO partners at Shillong and Tura.
• NHFDC concessional loans through the Meghalaya Co-operative Apex Bank, for applicants aged 18 and above with 40 per cent or more disability, covering education, vocational training and assistive devices.

Help and grievance redressal

• District Social Welfare Officer in your district. The office that issues, receives and processes the application.
• Social Welfare Department, Government of Meghalaya, the department that owns the scheme.
• Office of the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Temple Road, Lower Lachumiere, Shillong - 793001, Meghalaya.

Applying is free. No agent or middleman can charge you a fee for a Social Welfare Department application, and no official will ask you to pay to have a file moved.

A note on what is not published. The Meghalaya state schemes portal does not publish a fixed sanction amount, an income ceiling or a document checklist for this scheme, and no scheme guideline PDF is hosted for it. The eligibility and document lists above follow the standard practice across the Social Welfare Department's Disability Sector schemes. Before you commit to a course of treatment, confirm the current sanction limit in writing with your District Social Welfare Officer.