Shillong, Oct 24: An RTI investigation by Blind Lead Trust has exposed systemic failure in disability reservation in Meghalaya, with 95 out of 115 public offices reporting not a single employee with disabilities.
The Trust filed 115 RTIs — 106 in government departments and nine in educational institutions — and received all replies as of August 25, 2026.
Each RTI sought data on PwD employment, backlog vacancies, roster system and sports quota. Only 20 offices, or 17 per cent, said they employ persons with disabilities, while 83 per cent reported none.
Of 102 offices that replied on employment, 75 reported zero staff with disabilities. On backlog, 91 of 100 replies claimed no pending vacancies, while only three admitted a backlog of one to three persons. The report says this shows departments have failed to maintain mandatory reservation rosters or calculate carry-forward vacancies since the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 and under the RPwD Act, 2016.
On roster and reservation, only 30 of 115 offices replied, 67 gave no response and 14 left it blank. Of those who replied, 23 said they have no roster. On sports quota, 91 offices gave no reply or left it blank, 19 reported zero.
Only one establishment — the Office of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Meghalaya — has formally implemented the RPwD Act mandates, as per the master sheet.
District-wise, East Khasi Hills accounted for 95 applications and 16 of the 20 offices that employ PwDs. Garo Hills, Tura and Jaintia Hills had two each. South Garo Hills, South West Khasi Hills and Ri Bhoi reported no PwD employees.
The report also flagged accessibility barriers in filing RTIs — unclear physical filing norms, outdated PIO names, low awareness on accommodations for visually impaired and inaccessible Captcha.
In a separate disclosure dated September 28, the Social Welfare Department admitted that no dedicated government residential home or vocational training institution for persons with disabilities was set up between June 2018 and March 2026, and that accessibility audits under Section 42 of RPwD Act for digital welfare portals are not available.
Disability groups have demanded retrospective audit of backlog vacancies from 1995, public advertisements for reserved posts within three months, special drives to fill at least 50 per cent backlog within six months and publication of 100-point rosters and digital accessibility audits.
Warning of street agitation and indefinite hunger strike, BLT Co-founder Jitendra Dkhar said official data proves departments are reporting no backlog only because they have refused to maintain statutory rosters, and the government will bear responsibility for any harm during protests.
