NOTICE
The undersigned along with staff members of the Commission conducted a surprise inspection of the Asha Jyoti Home for mentally retarded at the Nirmal Chhaya Complex early morning at 4:45 am on 8th February 2017. The Home houses 59 mentally challenged women and girls of ‘mild’ and ‘moderate’ category. The Commission has observed the following serious issues in the Home:
The Commission on an earlier visit to the Beggar Home had noted that the mentally retarded women were being made to cook meals for Asha Jyoti and Beggar Home (which share a kitchen) as there was only one cook and one helper to cook meals for over 80 residents.
The Commission had then issued a Notice to which it received a reply from the Department of Social Welfare defending this practice. The stand of the Department in this matter is improper. It has been stated in the reply that the mentally ill may sometimes be participating in the daily activities of the home and assisting in cooking, but this is more out of their sense of involvement rather than out of compulsion. Utmost hygiene is maintained in the kitchen and participating in daily activities gives a sense of belongingness to the residents and is also therapeutic. This is part of their rehabilitation and a means to channelize their energies in a positive way. Further, the reply states that 2 cooks have been posted in the Home and one of them is on leave due to medical reasons. The reply further informs that shortage of staff has been taken note of and steps are being taken to address the issue at the earliest.
The Commission is deeply perturbed at this reply of the Department. Firstly, the Department itself submits that at times there is only one cook for the two Homes. It is not possible for one cook to cook three meals in a day for 80 residents unassisted. Hence, the argument of the Department that the mentally ill only sometimes participated in cooking for the purpose of rehabilitation is a complete misrepresentation of facts. The stand of the Department that cooking food for the entire residents of two Homes by mentally ill is a means of therapy and rehabilitation reveals a lack of understanding and empathy for issues surrounding mental health. If cooking is to be used for ‘rehabilitation’ and ‘inculcating sense of belongingness’ in the mentally retarded, the same has to be done in an activity format in a controlled environment, and that too by trained counselors. By making the mentally challenged cook food for all, the Department has severely compromised the health and security of both the mentally challenged as well as residents of the Beggar Home.
Further, in its latest inspection, the Commission has been informed that the mentally retarded continue to assist in preparation of food due to shortage of staff.
It was also observed that there is only one sweeper for two homes and the sweeper was available only in one shift. Due to this, in the morning of the surprise inspection, the toilets and the area around it in Asha Jyoti Home were dirty. Lack of hygiene may lead to serious diseases to the mentally challenged residents. There is an urgent need to increase sweepers in each shift in the Asha Jyoti Home.
The Commission noted that women residents were lined up completely naked in the complex while waiting for their turn for bath and even after the bath were walking naked to their rooms. This is a severe blow to the dignity of the residents and a serious human rights violation. Also, the area where these women were lined up naked was partially uncovered which could easily result in the women catching cold and falling ill.
It was observed that there was shortage of potable water for the residents. The water available for bathing was very hard and this was resulting in allergies to the residents. Further, warm water was not available for bathing despite winter season.
Apart from Yoga classes, no other recreational activities are organized for residents in the Home. These residents are mild and moderately retarded women and many of them were conversing properly. We were informed that many were no longer on medication. The Department should ensure proper activities, counseling and rehabilitation to help these women lead a dignified and meaningful life. Also, the women who are not on medication can probably be shifted to Nari Niketan to allow them to interact with people with no mental disabilities.
CCTV cameras were not installed in the Home. Adequate cameras should be installed to assist proper monitoring of the Home. Care should be taken to ensure that monitoring of the CCTV should be done by female staff only.
The Commission met a house aunty who was working in the Home fulltime for 24 hours a day but was being paid only Rs. 9,000/- approximately.
The staff informed the Commission that they had been asked by higher authorities to prepare the premises as visits of the Commission could take place anytime. However, despite this, the above issues were observed which reveals that these are persisting issues in the Homes and need to be rectified immediately through intervention of the Department.
Please provide an action taken report on the abovementioned points along with specific timelines for rectification of each issue latest by 15.02.2017 at 5 PM.
(Swati Maliwal)
To
Secretary Department of Social Welfare Govt. of NCT of Delhi
