CHENNAI: While the government has reconstituted a committee to monitor the 4% reservation provided to persons with disabilities (PwDs), members of the community are worried over PwDs not being part of the panel. They said a previous committee, which was formed in 2008, remained dysfunctional and are afraid the new panel too would meet the same fate as it lacks PwD representation.
To effectively implement the 4% reservation for PwDs during government recruitment, as mandated under the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (RPWD) Act, the State government on Thursday formed a nine-member monitoring committee with the Secretary of the Differently-abled Welfare Department as its head.
The other members of the committee include secretaries of the Labour Welfare and Skill Development Department and Human Resources Development Department, Commissioner for the Welfare of the Differently Abled, Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission, Secretary of the Teachers’ Recruitment Board, Chairman of the Medical Services Recruitment Board, Director of Employment and Training and the Registrar of Co-operative Societies.
Apart from monitoring the 4% quota implementation in government departments, aided organisations, State corporations, educational institutions, universities and local bodies, the committee will also ensure that the reservation is carried forward to the next year if vacancies are not filled.
It will also monitor the identification of posts suitable for disabled persons and hold reviews to identify posts once in three years. This comes after Chief Minister MK Stalin promised a high-level committee to help identify suitable positions and appointments for PwDs.
In 2008, a high-level committee headed by the social welfare minister was formed to implement 3% reservation and it was reconstituted with the Chief Secretary as its head in 2012. However, members of PwD organisations said the panel failed to live up to expectations and voiced apprehensions over the new committee as well since it too does not have representation from the community.
“In the 14 years the previous committee was in place, it did not even meet once. Representatives of PwDs should be included in the new committee so that they could put pressure to keep it functional,” S Namburajan of the Tamil Nadu Association for Rights of All Types of Differently-Abled and Caregivers, told TNIE.
Meanwhile, officials from the Department for Welfare of Differently-Abled said while the earlier committee functioned under the Chief Secretary, now it is under the department itself. They also denied claims that the previous committee did not even meet once.