Indian State Government Sets Disability Quotas in Top Posts
By Kay Schriner (kays@uark.edu)
Karnataka State in India will set aside 3% of the top-level government jobs for persons with physical disabilities. Another state, Rajasthan, took a similar step earlier.
Previously, these plum jobs were not open to such individuals, who were believed to be incapable of performing them. Jobs had been reserved in the lower two classes of government posts - the clerical ranks. Five percent of those positions are held for individuals with disabilities.
The higher ranking posts now available to disabled persons include positions in universities, the tax department, and the judiciary. So far, 47 jobs have been identified as appropriate for the set-aside.
The Persons with Disabilities Act of 1996 requires that every state establish a percentage of jobs that will be reserved for individuals with physical disabilities in every level of government.
According to the Karnataka government, there are more than 350,000 physically disabled people in the state, a figure that includes individuals with visual impairments and multiple disabilities.
In another state, the Patna High Court has criticized government officials for failing to implement the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act of 1995. Though state counsel Rajeshwar Prasad had told the Court that the government has a 3 percent quote in government jobs, the judges labeled the government's claim that it was meeting its legal obligations "a dead letter."
Six people in Patna have filed lawsuits claiming disability discrimination.
Also in India, the Delhi High Court has issued a priority ruling requiring the government to establish medical authorities for determining eligibility for disability benefits as required by the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities and Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act.
Social Jurists, a public interest lawyers' group, had brought the case. In their estimation, nearly 200,000 people with disabilities were having difficulty in getting the medical certificates required for employment, admission to schools, and accessing disability relief funds.
Information for this story was taken from The Times of India.
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