Shillong: The Meghalaya unit of the Association for Empowerment of Divyangjan is taking the state government to task. They allege widespread discrimination against persons with disabilities in public jobs. The group met at the Blind Lead Trust office in Nongthymmai to plot their next move. Their executive committee reviewed persistent violations of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act of 2016.
The group claims the state failed to implement reservation policies properly and lacked transparency in the roster system. They cited RTI findings where government departments provided blank or nil responses regarding disabled hires. The organization said it had planned to submit a memorandum detailing its concerns to the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities on July 10. However, the meeting was postponed after the Commissioner’s office cancelled the appointment due to administrative reasons.
Qualified candidates reportedly faced bias after passing written tests. Some were denied roles post-interview due to their disabilities. Others could not sit for exams because authorities failed to provide scripts. The group also claimed some posts went to political favorites instead of qualified applicants.
They want answers on whether old vacancies from the 1995 Act remain open and how the state now handles the 4 percent reservation mandate. They also raised flags about potential fraud in disability certificates, specifically regarding hearing impairments. The AED will now seek an administrative fix before heading to court. If the government does not fix these recruitment and roster issues soon, the group will head to court.
Comments