An online presentation on Mental Health Facilities presented by the MoSJE was appreciated by the Supreme Court. The portal instructs the infrastructure of all the States and UTs rehabilitation facilities and the number of mentally ill patients withering over. The portal intends to ensure their rehabilitation.
A presentation on Mental health facilities given by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with disabilities in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MSJE) on an online dashboard called “Manoashraya” was appreciated by the Supreme Court. This portal directs the details for the Rehabilitation and Halfway homes in India. This presentation was in response to a petition seeking rehabilitation for mentally ill patients, of thousands who are withering in hospitals and mental asylums.
A bench comprising the CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha, and Justice JB Pardiwala. The Centre had informed the court that the State Government feeding the information concerning mental health on the online dashboard is about to get ready.
There are the following details on the portal:
- The total number of government-run RH/HHs in the states and UTs.
- The intake capacity with a bifurcation between male and female inmates.
- RHs/ HHS occupancy.
- The number of patients languishing in the institutions of mental health.
- Specific details of RHs/HHs included their contact details, location, facilities available, etc.
Joint Secretary to MSJE, Mr Rajesh Yadav, presented the dashboard and instructed that the specific details would be provided on the dashboard.
A dashboard on mental health would specify details of the patient’s occupancy and hygiene conditions in the centres.
The privacy and security of the occupants in the rehabilitation would be kept safe, said the Additional Solicitor General Madhvi Divan in the context of their photos being uploaded. The dashboard would specify to the occupants the level of hygiene and facilities in the Centre and obligate states to provide the information. She added that our portal is still in the process of pulling up the information.
We are still waiting to discover it in practice because the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has taken the obligation. We expect the Ministry of Health to get engaged in this as well. The ‘Telemanas’ is a comprehensive scheme concerning the infrastructure of mental health concerned, and possibly it would be merged with that.
‘Telemanas’ and ‘Manoasharay’ portals are in the process of collaboration.
This was stated by The Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, that MoHFW refrained from covering medical health areas and, with proper specifications, dealt with the mental health institutions only. The helpline Telemanas comes under MoHFW, and there is a need to merge it with the Manoasharay portal as prepared by MSJE. A collaboration of MoHFW, MSJE and Ms Madhavi Divan took it to the secretary level in both ministries.
The next date of the hearing would present a way forward, and the presentation would be given by the joint secretaries of both ministries and further clarified its order that there is no adversarial intention in the proceedings. The court intends to act as a facilitator to use its position and further wants to ensure the purpose of rehabilitation homes and halfway homes are duly fulfilled, as there are an end number of people withering in the institutions.
The honourable court has appreciated the presentation given by the joint Secretary of MSJE, as further added by the bench in the order, and the next hearing for the same would be held in a month.
The Portal contains a region-wise distribution of specific details of institutes.
Before hearing this petition, the Apex court considered the suggestion of putting forward Ms Divan. It directed the setting up of an online dashboard by all the States and Union territories within four weeks. The portal provides information on the availability of the institutions and the facilities they would be providing, their rate of occupancy, and halfway homes’ region-wise distribution in the states.
They directed the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to provide a format on the online dashboard. Further, the direction was given that there be an establishment of halfway homes by all the states and efficiently within six months. The ministry was directed to keep a track record of the progress of establishing the halfway homes, conduct meetings at least once a month with all states and union territories, and ensure the rehabilitation of mentally ill patients.
