Kochi : The high court has urged the Union ministry of social justice and empowerment to finalise the standard operating procedure (SOP) for the care and rehabilitation of children with chronic neurodevelopmental disabilities and ensure its implementation in Keralam.
So far, nominations have been received from only one concerned department in 14 states, while nominations from the remaining concerned departments are awaited. The bench accordingly sought the central govt’s response and adjourned the case to Nov 11. A bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice V M Syam Kumar observed that since the SOP was necessary to support children with chronic neurodevelopmental disabilities, any delay in implementing it could not be countenanced. The observations were made while considering a suo motu case initiated by the court on the need for an effective policy and implementation framework for such children. For this purpose, it had asked all states and Union Territories to nominate officers to a committee tasked with framing the SOP. Keralam has nominated two members. The central govt also submitted that the draft SOP prepared and submitted by the state govt had already been circulated among the authorities in other states. The court observed that any delay in constituting the committee would hold up the finalisation of a national-level SOP and adversely affect children with neurodevelopmental disabilities.
During the hearing on Wednesday, the central govt placed an office memorandum before the bench stating that it had decided to formulate a comprehensive SOP for the care, rehabilitation and palliative support of children with chronic neurodevelopmental disabilities.