FACILITIES TO DIFFERENTLY ABLED AT GOVERNMENT OFFICES

            The Department of Personnel and Training has informed that as per information submitted on-line by 71 Departments/Ministries, as on 01.01.2013, there were 9341 number of persons with disabilities who were employed in the Departments/Ministries of the Central Government.  State/UT-wise information is not compiled.

             As per section 46 of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, the appropriate Governments and the local authorities are required to provide for-

 (a) ramps in public buildings;

(b) adaptation of toilets for wheel chair users; 

(c)  braille symbols and auditory signals in elevators or lifts;

(d) ramps in hospitals, primary health centers and other medical care and rehabilitation institutions.

             All the Ministries/Departments have been requested to comply with this provision. The Ministry of Railways provides concessional fare for various classes of persons with disabilities as under:

S.No.	Category of Persons	Percentage of Concession
1	Orthopaedically Handicapped/Paraplegic persons who cannot travel without escort –for any purpose	75% in 2nd , Sleeper, 1st Class, 3AC, AC chair Car 50% in 1AC and 2AC 25% in 3AC & AC Chair Car of Rajdhani/Shatabdi trains 50% in Monthly Season Ticket & Quarterly Season Ticket One escort is also eligible for same element of concession
2	Mentally retarded persons who cannot travel without escort- for any purpose.
3	Blind persons travelling alone or with an escort- for any purpose
4	Deaf & Dumb persons (both afflictions together in the same person) travelling alone or with an escort- for any purpose.	· 50% in 2nd , Sleeper and 1st Class · 50% in Monthly Season Ticket & Quarterly Season Ticket · One escort is also eligible for same element of concession.

            Similarly, State Governments have their own schemes for providing concessional fare for persons with disabilities while travelling by the buses owned by State transport undertakings.

             As per Section 33 of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, every appropriate Government are required to  appoint in every establishment such percentage of vacancies not less than three per cent for persons or class of persons with disability of which one per cent each is reserved for persons suffering from blindness or low vision; (ii) hearing impairment; (iii) locomotor disability or cerebral palsy, in the posts identified for each disability.

            This information was given by the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha here today.

 Source: PIB Release, 04.08.2015