The Khasi Disabilities Association (KDA) wants the state government to clearly point out the quota earmarked for persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the job reservation policy.
Speaking to Highland Post, KDA president Starwin Kharjana said that the quota for PWDs has not been pointed out clearly and the disabled are often treated out of sympathy, which is condescending.
A 4 percent reservation for PWDs was introduced by the state government in 2020. Government jobs have already been reserved for the Khasi-Jaintia community (40 percent) and Garo community (40 percent) with another 5 percent for other tribes. The KDA, however, says that there is a lack of clarity on the PWD quota.
“We don’t want sympathy. If there is an office memorandum for the other [reservations] then why has this been denied to the PWDs?” Kharjana asked.
Stating that the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act says that 4 percent should be reserved for the disabled, he said that there should be a reservation within the reservation, keeping 4 percent for Khasi-Jaintia disabled and another 4 percent for Garo disabled persons.
“We will meet the new Social Welfare Minister on this matter because we don’t want sympathy but our rights,” he added while appreciating the Voice of the People Party (VPP), who have highlighted the plight of the disabled in the Assembly.
Kharjana urged that the PWD community not be forgotten in the ongoing debate over the roster system and reservation policy. On that matter, he stressed that the reservation policy should be reviewed after every 10-yearly census to keep it in line with the changes in population.
