Violation of PwD Reservation: Disability Commissioner issues notice to Treasuries Department

Kohima, September 28 (MExN): The Directorate of Treasuries and Accounts under the Nagaland government has been issued a suo-motu notice by the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (SCPD) for failure to comply with the 4% reservation for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities.

The matter pertains to the recruitment process to fill up a total of 44 posts under the establishment of the Directorate of Treasuries and Accounts, Nagaland, which were allegedly carried out without implementing 4% of vacancies in favour of Persons with Benchmark Disabilities as envisaged under Section 34 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, and notified by the state government on August 13, 2019.

The notice addressed to the Principal Director, a copy of which is was issued to The Morung Express, mentioned that the department was required to rectify and republish its initial advertisement which first appeared in the local dailies on October 10, 2019.

“Despite several communications and reminders on the matter by the Office of the State Commissioner, the recruitment process was carried forward in blatant disregard of the Government Notification for 4% reservation,” State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities Diethono Nakhro said in the notice.

The notice stated that it is disheartening and unbecoming to see the nature of how the 4% Reservation for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities is being dealt with and that too by a Government department. 

“The whole basis for which the Persons with Disabilities Act of 2016 came into being is to avoid such anomalies and to ensure Inclusion and give Equal Opportunity to all. The Act must not only be accounted for in letter but implemented in toto,” it added.

Opportunity for ‘course correction’
The notice, meanwhile, had been issued to give the department “an opportunity to make a course correction and to rectify the blatant disregard of the Government Notification for 4% reservation for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities by publishing a Corrigendum,” the SCPD said. 

It also directed the department to reschedule the Written Examination for only those candidates with benchmark disabilities so that it does not contradict earlier notifications declaring the results for the written examination held on December 14, 2019.

This, it said, would be just and fair in giving equal opportunity to Persons with Benchmark Disabilities to apply for the posts. This has to be complied with within three months of receipt of this notice, it added. 

Further, in the event of failure to comply with the terms of the notice, it cautioned that a suo-motu case for non compliance of the government notification of August 13, 2019 and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, as well as civil and criminal proceedings would be initiated under the relevant provisions of law.