Assam government will fill up more than 4,000 posts reserved for differently-abled persons at different departments in the State.
“According to our data, prior to April 2016 there are around 4,800 vacancies for which we will organize a special recruitment drive. These vacancies are as per the Person with Disabilities Act, 1995. Once these vacancies are filled up, the latest Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 will be exercised,” a Social Welfare department official told Northeast Now.
The Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 had provided for 3% reservation for the employment of persons with disabilities which increased to 4% under the Rights of PWD Act, 2016. The latest Act also provided for rights based provisions to enforce implementation.
According to the existing provisions for ‘Unemployment Allowance for Differently-abled’ the state government provides Rs. 500 per month to divyangjans between ages 18-45. However, the concerned person needs to register their name at the Special Employment Exchange. Further, one can avail this scheme in case one is not employed within the next two years post-registration.
On December 3, the Deen Dayal Divyangajan Sahajya Scheme was launched by the state government. Under this scheme, a one-time grant of Rs. 5000 was to be granted to cover the health-care expenses of the differently-able.
So far in Kamrup (M) district, 2,500 grants have been given according to official record. It aims to cover 4.5 lakh divyangjans across Assam.
One of the main criteria to avail the government welfare schemes and scholarships is to have a ‘certified disability’ (40% and above) but currently no documentation is available.
“We are working on screening and identification of the divyangjans so that the healthcare benefits become accessible for all. Due to the shortage of manpower in the health sector, this process is taking a longer time,” the official added.
So far, 200 camps have been organized across Assam to create this database.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in December last year had directed the Social Welfare Department to finalize the selection criterion for filling up the vacant posts