Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has directed all districts to expedite disability assessments for the timely issuance of Unique Disability ID (UDID) cards.
In an official letter issued on July 21, the Department of Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SS&EPD) has asked officials to conduct regular Medical Board meetings and ensure faster processing of pending applications.
As per the latest data on the UDID portal, 13,32,415 applications have been registered in the state so far. Out of these, 9,73,344 UDID cards have been generated, while 3,14,721 applications have been rejected. However, 44,350 applications are still pending at various stages of processing.
The directive follows a communication from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) regarding delays in disability assessment and re-verification, particularly for government employees with disabilities.
The department has emphasised that genuine Persons with Disabilities should not face unnecessary inconvenience or delay during the assessment process. Officials have been instructed to deploy adequate specialists, hold Medical Board sittings regularly, and prioritise pending cases so that UDID cards can be issued within the prescribed timeline.
The department has also sought an Action Taken Report on the measures implemented.
