Chandigarh: Parents of applicants at home for mentally ill want security deposit cut
On August 1, in an executive body meeting of the group home, the department decided to cut this amount to ₹10 lakh for a sharing room, ₹15 lakh for a single room and ₹20 lakh for a suite at its Group Home, the upfront charges for five years
Parents of individuals with learning disabilities are concerned about the high security deposits required by the Chandigarh administration for admission to a new Group Home coming up in Sector 31. Though the UT social welfare department recently decided to cut the initially proposed deposit in half, parents still find the reduced amount unaffordable.
On July 31, in an executive body meeting of the group home, the department decided to cut this amount to ₹10 lakh for a sharing room, ₹15 lakh for a single room and ₹20 lakh for a suite at its Group Home, the upfront charges for five years.
Earlier, the administration had proposed refundable security deposits of ₹19.2 lakh for a person with learning disabilities staying in a twin sharing room, ₹30 lakh for a single room and ₹42 lakh for a suite at its group home, the upfront charges for 10 years.
Parents, who initially campaigned for a group home and then for other services in it, are now complaining that the rates being charged are unprecedented. They feel that no one understands their struggles and the lifelong expenses they’ve faced due to their children’s learning disabilities.
Parents say the monthly charges for the group home are also very high— ₹35,000 for a suite, ₹ 25,000 for a single room and ₹16,000 for a twin-sharing room.
Parents have also compared security deposits at various group homes nationwide and found that none charges more than ₹ 6 lakh. They suggested similar deposits, ranging from ₹ 3 lakh to 6 lakh, but the UT administration rejected their proposal.
Aditya, a member of the executive committee of the group home, said, “The UT social welfare department is acting dictatorial by demanding a five-year security deposit upfront.”
“They should only require a deposit for three months, six months, or one year. No group home in India demands five years’ worth of security. We have consistently requested that the funding and security deposit model of a local senior citizen home, which charges a three-month deposit, be adopted”, he added.
A parent, Satish Kumar, 80, a retired State Bank of India employee and resident of Sector 48-B, said, “The security deposit is excessively high and unjustified! For persons with disabilities, they are asking for ₹15-20 lakh, whereas the Senior Citizens Home in Sector 43, also run by the UT social welfare department, charges less than ₹30,000.”
“We are eagerly awaiting the start of group home admissions, but if the security deposit remains this high, many families won’t even be able to apply. Which group homes surveyed by the UT social welfare department charge such exorbitant security deposits?,” he added.
Social welfare department department Palika Arora said, “According to the governor’s orders, the security deposit ranges from ₹10 to ₹20 lakh, pending approval by the governing body in a meeting scheduled for next week. Initially, the deposit was set at ₹40 lakh, and we’ve already reduced it by half. Further reductions are not possible.”
“For EWS individuals, the initial monthly charges were set at ₹8,000 but we have proposed reducing it to ₹4,000, considering their income slab is below ₹1.5 lakh,” he added.