Health and Social Welfare Minister K.K. Shylaja has said that job reservation rules have been amended to ensure priority for differently abled candidates in the selection of candidates from the Kerala Public Service Commission lists.
The existing rotation chart of the Kerala PSC list had been amended to ensure that the differently abled get first appointment from the list.
Though a three per cent job reservation was allotted in government jobs for persons with disabilities, most of the posts remained vacant, she said adding that efforts are now under way to clear the backlog of vacancies. A report to be submitted to the Cabinet on the proposal for regularising differently abled persons, if they were in service on contract basis for 100 days, was being prepared.
The Minister said special identity cards acceptable in any part of the country for getting benefits would be disbursed among eight lakh differently abled persons in the State in two months.
A special unit for cochlear implant surgery for children with hearing disabilities had been started at the Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital. A State-level survey would be conducted by the Social Justice Department to study problems of senior citizens living in homes and old-age homes. The government would modernise one old-age home in each district.
Ms. Shylaja announced that a mega camp will be conducted in Kannur in January to distribute aids and appliances for the differently abled in the district.
Inaugurating the State-level function to mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities here on Saturday, the Minister said that aids and appliances worth Rs. 50 lakh would be disbursed at the camp. Differently abled persons identified during identification campaigns held earlier in different parts of the district would be the beneficiaries of the scheme, she said.
District panchayat president K.V. Sumesh presided. Ports Minister Kadannappally Ramachandran distributed State-level awards to honour differently abled persons who made contributions to different fields.
