Chandigarh, April 23 -- Despite having the same illness, the UT administration is giving second-class treatment to its mentally ill and intellectually disabled persons belonging to economically weaker sections in a small Group Home facility in Sector 15. Built at a cost of Rs.35 crore with a capacity of 80 seats, many seats are lying vacant in Group Home, Sector 31. Yet, the UT administration is unwilling to keep EWS persons in that facility and is instead moving them to the Old Age Home in Sector 15 (known as the small Group Home). There are no detailed standard operating procedures (SOPs) defined for the Sector 15 small Group Home. In the third round of admissions for the Group Home facilities in Sector 31 and Sector 15 facilities for EWS, the Social Welfare Department received 10 applications against 62 general and 11 EWS seats. In Group Home, Sector 31, only 5 mentally ill and intellectually disabled persons are residing while around 14 are undergoing the assessment process. Other than general staff, Sector 31 facility has a counsellor and Individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) and mental illness (MI) are engaged in recreational activities including Yoga and movement therapy. However, EWS persons are not getting any counsellor's services. Daily activities considered important for keeping ID and MI persons busy are missing in Sector 15 facilities. No recreational activities are being organised for them. On visiting her mentally ill son in the Sector 15 facility on Wednesday, 72-year-old Sumitra Devi said, "My son sits idle all day, no activities are organised to keep him engaged. I am concerned for his health there, as he is diabetic and obese but no dietary chart is being prepared. Visitors coming to see senior citizens sometimes give sweets to them and I worry about him consuming them in the absence of supervision and idle time. I asked about the doctor's availability, but they said they do not have that facility available there." Dr Bhupinderjit Kaur Waraich, psychiatrist and a member of the governing body of the UTTHAAN Society of Group Home, explained that having professional staff, a trained counsellor, a psychiatric nurse, and a social worker is important to assess early signs of lapses in ID and MI persons and to provide timely interventions. "The concept of creating a Group Home is to have assisted living space with professional trained staff on duty. The Group Home building in Sector 31 was designed accordingly with an activity room and a staff room for in-house professional nurses to identify early signs of relapse and monitor mentally ill and intellectually disabled persons." "During our early meetings with then health secretary Yashpal Garg, it was decided to have EWS seats in the same building. However, if the department is keeping them separate there is no clarity on the professional staff they are providing. Without it, the facility will only function like a hostel, not assisted living space," added Dr Waraich. Upneet Kaur, chairperson of the Centre for Human Rights and Duties, Panjab University, said, "The government's approach toward EWS candidates is against the constitutional provision of inclusivity. Nowhere are EWS candidates treated separately, under the RTE Act, EWS students are admitted in the same school. Government facilities should be subsidised, the charges for the Group Home are unaffordable for many." Aditya Vikram Ramitra, a member of the UTTHAAN society executive committee, alleged that no conducive report has been presented before the committee regarding the Sector 15 building being suitable for mentally ill and intellectually disabled persons. "We have requested the UT social welfare department to share the detailed plan for the new EWS facility. However, no response is forthcoming," said Ramitra. Group Home, Sector 31 has 80 seats, comprising 12 suites with single-person occupancy, 24 single rooms and 22 double-sharing rooms. Out of the total 80 seats 11 have been designated for 50% concession seats, and the rest are for the general category. Having incurred a cost of Rs.35 crore to build the Group Home on 2 acres land of GRIID (Government Rehabilitation Institute for Intellectual Disabilities) land, with a yearly budget exceeding Rs.1 crore, it is unclear why the department is keeping EWS candidates in a separate facility when they have enough seats in the Sector 31 facility, which was created for the very same purpose. Anuradha Chagti, secretary of the social welfare, women, and child development department, said the Group Home, Sector 31 is a paid facility and it has been clear since day 1 of its creation. Therefore, EWS persons are being kept in separate facilities....