Sunil Chadha
Shimla
After more than 800 days of sustained protests by visually impaired activists, the Himachal Pradesh government has signalled a shift from assurances to action, initiating concrete steps to address long-pending demands related to jobs, welfare schemes and mobility for persons with disabilities (PwDs).
The move comes days after protesting members of the visually impaired association intensified their agitation with a chakka jam outside the state secretariat, bringing traffic on the busy Cart Road to a halt amid harsh winter conditions.
At a review meeting held in Shimla, the Department for Empowerment of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBCs, Minorities and Specially Abled Persons (EoSMSA) examined issues flagged by the Visually Impaired Association and other disability groups, with a focus on clearing backlog vacancies and easing access to government benefits.
Push to fill backlog posts across departments
EoSMSA Director Sumit Khimta said that while only the animal husbandry and printing and stationery (accounts) departments have so far issued advertisements to fill backlog posts reserved for PwDs, other departments have now been directed to expedite the process. He said the school education department has already declared final results for 119 JBT posts reserved for persons with disabilities.
Of these, 50 posts have been filled by visually impaired candidates, 49 by orthopaedically challenged candidates, 11 by hearing-impaired persons, eight by candidates with multiple disabilities and one by a person with intellectual disability.
In addition, the department has issued advertisements for 94 TGT posts, including 26 reserved for the visually impaired and others earmarked for hearing-impaired, intellectually disabled, autistic and multi-disability categories.
Free bus travel, Him Bus Card under review
The meeting also took up issues related to free travel for persons with disabilities on HRTC buses. Officials discussed concerns over making the Him Bus Card mandatory, with the visually impaired association demanding that free travel should not be linked to compulsory documentation. The issue is currently under challenge before the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
To ease access, the department has directed officials to organise special camps to help eligible persons obtain Him Bus Cards. Other demands discussed included enhancement of the Disability Relief Allowance (DRA) under social security pension, appointment of an independent state commissioner for persons with disabilities, implementation of the Sahara pension scheme and unconditional allotment of houses to visually impaired persons under the Chief Minister’s Housing Scheme.
Policy calls, pending payments flagged
While issues such as increasing the DRA amount and raising the retirement age of disabled employees from 58 to 60 years were termed policy matters to be decided by the state cabinet, officials acknowledged delays in the Sahara pension scheme.
Representatives of the visually impaired association said beneficiaries have not received payments for the past six months, following which the matter has been referred to the health and family welfare department.
Association president Shobhu Ram urged the government to fast-track recruitment against backlog vacancies, noting that protesters have endured prolonged agitation, including over 70 days of continuous dharna outside the secretariat and a parallel protest near the Kali Bari area that has now crossed 800 days. Activists said the latest steps have raised cautious hope but warned that protests would continue until decisions translate into tangible relief on the ground.
