Govt employees with disabilities to get preference in transfer, postings

NEW DELHI: Over 15,000 central government employees with disabilities may now have a reason to cheer.


Government has issued an order saying such employees should get preference in transfers, postings and accommodation to suit their needs.

For long, these employees have been complaining that due care is not taken in catering to their special requirements while deciding their transfers and place of stay.

There are 15,747 persons with disabilities--visually handicapped, hearing handicapped and orthopedically handicapped--in various central government ministries or departments, according to a Personnel Ministry latest data.

"The facilities such as identification of jobs, post recruitment and pre-promotion training, assistive devices, free accessibility, preference in transfer or posting, special casual leave, etc have been identified as areas which require special attention," said an order issued yesterday by Ministry of Personnel.

The Directorate of Estates may give preference to the persons with disabilities for providing them accessible accommodation near their place of posting and they may be preferred for allotment of ground floor accommodation, it said.

"Possibility of existing housing accommodations being renovated to make them conveniently accessible to persons with disabilities, be explored by the Directorate of Estates," the order said.

Each central government ministry or department have been asked to identify the types of jobs which could be easily performed by them specially for Group B, C and D posts where the number of jobs are more.

Such persons should preferably be posted to perform identified jobs and they be allowed to continue doing so, it said.

As far as possible, the persons with disabilities may be exempted from the rotational transfer policy or transfer and be allowed to continue in the same job, where they would have achieved the desired performance, the Ministry said.

Preference in place of posting at the time of transfer or promotion may be given to the persons with disability subject to administrative constraints, the Personnel Ministry said.

The practice of considering choice of place of posting in case of persons with disabilities may be continued. To the extent feasible, they may be retained in the same job, where their services could be optimally utilised, it said.

The central government ministries or departments should assist the persons with disabilities by providing them high tech assistive devices (including low vision aids, hearing aids with battery), special furniture, wheel chairs (motorised if required by the employee), software scanners, computer and other hardware, etc. in accordance with their requirement, which would improve their efficiency, the order said.

"Every ministry or department in consultation with the Office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities would arrange for training of the Liaison Officer on 'Disability Equality and Etiquettes'," the Ministry said.

The guidelines should be applicable in respect of such employees working in the ministries or departments of the Government of India, their attached and subordinate offices, Central Public Sector Enterprises, Cantonment Boards, etc, it added.