Court Order

Aurangabad: Appointment of State commissioners

The challenged, who fight battles all their lives, are now aghast at the appointment of IAS officers as commissioners for the disability sector. At the heart of the matter is the State government's decision to send such officers in gross violation of the Persons with Disabilities Act 1995 (PWD act, 1995). The act clearly states that only that person who has special knowledge or practical experience in matters relating to rehabilitation of the disabled shall be given such a post.

A writ petition has already been filed in Aurangabad bench of the High Court in June by Prerna Apang Seva Sanghtana, an NGO working in the disability sector.

Activist W N Tungar from Pune, who helped the organization file the petition, said that in Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Gujarat and Rajasthan, the commissioners who were working in the disability sector were appointed. However, in the State, IAS officers who do not have any such background have been appointed. The State needs to adopt a similar approach, he said. There are 15.70 lakh disabled people in the State as per the 2001 census.

The petition says that key areas and schemes for special schools for the disabled and committees to be appointed to implement the provisions are hardly met with.
The petitioner has also pointed out that there is a huge pendency of cases.
“The commissioner is supposed to submit his report to the State assembly. In the last three years there has been no report,” said Tungar.

He even points out the lack of implementation of the 3 percent job reservation. The petitioner has also contented that the “absence of a skilled person as commissioner is to make sure that the funds allocated do not reach the sector.” The petitioner's lawyer Parag Bade said the bench has said that it will take the commissioner for disabled as a respondent and also keep ready a list of other liable person.

“The matter will come up by the end of this months,” he said. Activist Samir Ghosh said there is not enough support from other departments to comply with the law. “There is no coordination from other departments and there is very poor awareness of the law. If other states can enforce the law in a better manner by having activists, Maharashtra too can follow,” he said.

Uday Varunjekar, the advocate representing a PIL filed by National Federation of the Blind and another PIL by Satyashodh for implementation of 3 percent reservation in the disability sector said, “The officers of the state of Maharashtra do not have any positive intention to implement this act. As a result, implementation of the act is required. Basically, the charge should be given to such officers who have some commitment to the objective behind this act.”

Source: IAS officers at helm of affairs in disability sector rankle activists, Indian Express, Mumbai, 21 November 2007.