Govt issues fresh norms for disability certificate

The state government’s efforts to empower the specially abled citizens by providing employment opportunities have taken a hit with medical practitioners or medical boards failing to explain the extent of disability in the disability certificates issued to the candidates.

Putting an end to the burgeoning problem, the Department of Personnel Administration and Reforms (DPAR) has come out with fresh guidelines for issuance of disability certificates.

According to the fresh circular of DPAR, a copy of which is with DH, the medical practitioners and medical organisations henceforth have to mandatorily mention the extent of disability besides explaining whether the disability is permanent or curable in the disability certificates to candidates.

This apart, the circular also makes it mandatory that if any disability assessed with the help of machines, the certificates be issued only after obtaining the report on the level of disability from the machines. The government has also mandated that henceforth all medical certificates be issued online as stated in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016.

“The practitioner has to mention in the certificate whether the candidate is having a permanent disability or temporary disability whichever applicable. People with a temporary disability are not eligible for reservation for jobs,” said a senior bureaucrat in the state government.

The absence of reference to the extent of disability in all the disability certificates had triggered a lot of confusions during the direct recruitment process to the civil jobs that were reserved for the people with disabilities. Further, the government has stated that the existing Disability certificate issuing process will be discontinued in the state after the implementation of the Unique Disability Identity Card (UDIC) scheme introduced by the Union government. Even those who have already got the certificates must get the UDIC by registering online.