The Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry on Tuesday admitted in the Lok Sabha that key posts in the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) were lying vacant, including the chairpersons of the Rehabilitation Council of India and the National Trust, and the Chief Commissioner for PwD.
Asked by BJP MP Raksha Nikhil Khadse whether it was true that key DEPwD posts were lying vacant, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Pratima Bhoumik said “yes”, in a written reply. The reply further gave a list of nine of the posts, including six posts of directors of national institutes.
The Minister said that the posts had been given to other officials on “additional charge” arrangement. “The Government has taken the necessary steps to fill up the above vacancies,” the reply stated, without giving any further details.
The DEPwD, which is one of the two departments under the Social Justice Ministry, is tasked with empowering the 2.68 crore (according to the 2011 Census) Indians with disabilities.
