The territorial administration has finally notified the provision to provide three per cent reservation for the differently abled in government jobs.
Speaking at a function to mark the International Day for Disabled Persons here on Wednesday, Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy said the notification had paved way for providing reservation to the differently abled in 23 government departments.
The issue was pending for almost ten years, he said, adding that since his government took over six months ago several representations citing grievances of the differently abled were received.
The government had decided to constitute a committee under the supervision of Social Welfare Minister M. Kanadasamy to look into their grievances. The committee would meet once in three months to redress their problems, he said. There are around 30,000 differently abled persons in the Union Territory, and of them 20,952 were availing various types of welfare assistance. The government had set aside Rs 71.42 crore for initiating the welfare measures. The Social Welfare Department was providing a monthly pension ranging from Rs. 1,500 to Rs. 3,300 based on the nature and extent of disability, he said. Mr. Narayanasamy promised to arrange a separate queue system for the differently abled at the Government General Hospital and Medical College. Complimenting the government for notifying the reservation policy, Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi said it should have been implemented ten years ago.
Ms. Bedi urged the differently abled to educate themselves from a younger age so that they would become well equipped to deal with government job.
The Lieutenant Governor and Chief Minister distributed motorised tri-cycles and awards to persons with disability.
Speaker V. Vaithilingam, Social Welfare Minister M. Kandasamy and Chief Secretary Manoj Parida were present.
