ISLAMABAD: The Punjab government informed the Supreme Court on Monday that it had approved a management information system for online registration and assessment of disabled persons.

“The data so developed will help people with disability in finding suitable jobs as per their capacities both in public and private sectors against the three per cent job quota for disabled persons,” said a report furnished before a two-judge SC bench, headed by Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, which had taken up a case relating to the rights of disabled people in the country.

The report submitted on behalf of Ambreen Raza, Secretary of the Punjab Social Welfare and Bait-ul-Maal Department, said the provincial government had increased the job quota for the disabled from 2pc to 3pc, adding that till date 4,294 posts in BS-1 to 4 had been advertised for all departments and 3,988 such persons had been recruited.

Provincial government increases job quota for people with disability from 2pc to 3pc

The disability profile of recruited individuals showed that 2,947 (74pc) were physically disabled, 690 (17pc) visually impaired and 351 (nine per cent) were hearing impaired. During the last five years — from 2013 to 2018 — the provincial government received Rs149.9 million as funds collected from private establishments not employing the disabled against 3pc job quota, donations, government funds, Punjab Bait-ul-Maal or Welfare Trust for the Disabled. Around 597,432 such persons benefited from the amount disbursed among them, the report said.

About the implementation of the 3pc job quota, the report explained that since recruitment against the quota was a perpetual process, the implementation statistics/status might vary due to increase or decrease in the number of posts in each cadre or by fresh induction.

In addition to the Provincial Council for the Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons, the report said, the Punjab government had established the Punjab Welfare Trust for the Disabled, which had started its operations in February 1997 and a board of governors supervised it. The executive committee administered the affairs of the trust and an annual grant of Rs100m was released by the provincial government, it added.

According to the report, this grant is disbursed to associate NGOs to undertake financing of new initiatives and ongoing community projects, financial assistance to newly registered NGOs whereas any surplus amount is invested as endowment fund of the trust.

The report suggested that the existing laws with regard to the disabled persons needed amendments to bring it in conformity with the global recognitions which protected the rights and catered to the grievances of persons with disabilities in a better way. “A draft bill for the new law is also under preparation,” the report said.

The social welfare and Bait-ul-Maal departments have also established a dedicated provincial facilitation cell to gather requisite information from all departments and districts for implementation of the 3pc recruitment quota. The cell will provide assistance to the disabled, especially the visually impaired persons, at their home towns, besides maintaining constant liaison with the visually impaired persons.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2018