Nixing 4% quota for specially-abled in police force is grave injustice: Activists

The Centre removed the mandated 4% reservation for persons with disabilities (PwD) posts under the Indian Police Service (IPS), the Railway Protection Force (RPF), the police force for Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman, Diu, Dadra and Nagar Havel and all combatant posts of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs).

New Delhi: The Centre on Saturday removed the mandated 4% reservation for persons with disabilities (PwD) posts under the Indian Police Service (IPS), the Railway Protection Force (RPF), the police force for Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman, Diu, Dadra and Nagar Havel and all combatant posts of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs).

“In exercise of the powers conferred by the second proviso to sub-section (1) of section 34 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, the Central Government, in consultation with the Chief Commissioner or the State Commissioner, as the case may be, having regard to the type of work carried out in any Government establishment, by notification and subject to such conditions, if any, as may be specified in such notifications exempt any Government establishment from the provisions of this section,” the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJ&E) said in a notification on Wednesday.

In another notification on Wednesday, the MoSJ&E made a distinction between combat and non-combat roles in the security forces and state that the government has exempted all combat posts in the Border Security Force, the Central Reserve Police Force, the Central Industrial Security Force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, the Sashastra Seema Bal and the Assam Rifles from the non-discrimination and reservation provisions of the RPD Act.

Speaking to ETV Bharat, National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) executive director, Armaan Ali, said, "Exempting IPS and police forces job for people with disabilities is a grave injustice and it is against the provision of RPwD Act, 2016. And I think this will set affect specially-abled people badly."

He said that there are millions of people with disabilities who are facing unemployment woes. It is understandable if the government had exempted them from doing combatant job in police and paramilitary forces but there are other jobs that they are capable of doing.

Read: SC says plea seeking equal participation of students with disabilities in online exams to be heard by another Bench

"For instance, there are other roles in police or paramilitary forces like desk jobs including cyber security or forensic and others. Such jobs can accommodate people with disabilities," he added. Armaan Ali opined that people with disabilities have faced tough times during the pandemic and one of the serious problems was job losses due to long lockdowns.

“This decision by the government may also effect the people who are in the police force who may suffer disability while performing their duties and the Section 20 which has also been exempted in the order takes away their rights,” claimed NCPEDP executive director.

V. Murlidharan, general secretary of the National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled said that they are demanding withdrawal of the first notification. "Exemptions should be granted only in cases of “combatant roles” in keeping with the intent and spirit of the proviso under Section 34 of the RPD Act. It is regrettable that a department that is supposed to safeguard the rights of the disabled and empower them, is doing just the opposite," he added.

Read: No proposal yet to release 2011 caste census data: Govt