CHHATTISGARH: While every responsible adult aspires for equitable employment opportunities, persons with disabilities (PwD) have a particularly difficult time finding them, for evident reasons.
Jagatpal Ram, a native of Jholanga village of Jashpur district, lost his left hand while working outside the state during the Covid pandemic, forcing him to return home. He was identified as being eligible for work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) which secured him essential financial support for his family. Like him, hundreds of other PwDs in Jashpur, about 350 km north-east of Raipur, too have benefitted immensely from the scheme.
MGNREGA offers rural households a legal right to employment for 100 days per year by the Centre and an additional 50 days given by the Chhattisgarh government at a minimum fixed wage. Notably, Jitender Yadav, a 2019-batch IAS officer, posted as chief executive officer, Jashpur zila panchayat, took the initiative to help such people.
“MGNREGA remains open to all and PwD too are provided with work based on their capabilities. Camps were organised at Panchayat level to make them aware about the nature of the work available for them. To promote an enabling environment, site guidance is given to other workers to create a positive context for PwDs to carry out their tasks as per the operational guidelines,” said Yadav.
Flexible works that are within easy reach of PwDs have been explored under the rural wage employment programme. These include tasks such as that of an assistant or supervisor of children in a creche facility, giving drinking water to labourers, wall curing during concrete constructions, watering plants, etc.
District level staff cross verify the engagements with Divyang workers by random sampling. They are provided with a special category job card as a distinct identity considering their case as unusual. Medical certificates are taken into consideration to allot such job cards.
Usually, the PwD Act 1995 specifies that those with more than 40 percent disabled are considered at threshold level for NREGA work under the Divyang category. “The approach is helping the disabled to earn livelihood close to their homes. Besides the needed sustenance for living, they feel empowered socially and psychologically. We are also planning to train the capable Divyangs further in desired skills to make them entrepreneurs of the future,” said Dr Ravi Mittal, Jashpur collector.
In the financial year 2022-23, a total of 737 PwDs were offered jobs under MGNREGA which generated 25939 labour man-days and transferred around Rs 53 lakh directly to their bank accounts. In April of this fiscal year, 279 Divyangs got employment. “Our target is to exceed the 3000 mark this year,” said Yadav.
The opportunities and stumbling blocks for PwDs were identified by the Jashpur administration to shape livelihood choices equally for differently-able men and women. The payment and other terms or conditions remain the same as for non-PwD groups.
“It gives a good feeling to engage with other NREGA workers. The scope often remains to do something and succeed,” said Surekha Bai, a physically-challenged person who takes care of children of workers
in a creche.
In Jashpur, the divyang people are mobilised through various mechanisms like local staff sensitisation, camps at the block and gram Panchayat levels, involving local representatives, seeking cooperation of health staff to validate Divyang persons in any given area.
Many PwDs expressed delight to become aware about the support network available to them over their employment promotion without facing problems. “We realised that disability cannot be a hurdle if one wishes to be a productive member,” one of the said.