All the members of the Association are requested to offer their suggestions if any on the draft representation to the Anomoly Committee on PRC 2010

To,

The Chairman Anomaly Committee Government of Andhra Pradesh, Secretariat, Hyderabad

Respected Sir,

Sub: - Disabled Welfare –PRC 2010 – certain anomalies - rectification under humanitarian grounds - necessary orders – Requested- Regarding.

We submit that the disabled persons are weakest among the weaker sections. They need support and help in their day to day life. The 6th Pay Commission of the Government of India has recommended for various benefits like enhanced number of casual leave, special aids and appliances for facilitating office work, higher interest subsidy for automobile loans, liberal flexi hours, higher rate of transport allowances, better prosthetic aids and proper grievances redress machinery, Extra allowance for disabled women employees to take care of young child till the child attains the age of two years. We have represented the PRC for extending and enhancing certain concessions to the disabled employees. But the PRC 2010 has not taken the problems of the disabled employees into cognizance in the PRC report. The following are certain issues where the disabled employees are subjected to injustice.

1. Conveyance Allowance:- You are aware that the mobility rate among the disabled persons is very less compared with normal persons. Due to their physical deformity, they need some or other conveyance to go to their office and back to home. In addition, wherever they wants to go they need the special transportation. The cost of living has gone up and the transport expenses increased enormously, the Conveyance now recommended is far from the actual expenses and as such the same may be paid as is paying by the government of India to its disabled employees or at least 10% of the basic pay, not less than Rs. 3000/- pm. may be allowed to all the disabled employees.

2. Readers Allowance:- The blind teachers need readers assistance for preparation with acquaintance with current affairs, so as to teach the students. The PRC has not taken into the real time situation of the readers demand for the payment. The readers allowance now recommended can not meet the demand of the readers and results additional expenditure on the blind teachers/lecturers. We request for payment of Rs2000/- pm as readers allowance to the entire blind teaching faculty.

3. Medical Allowance and Additional Casual Leaves:- We submit that the disabled persons are susceptible to higher medical problems necessitating frequent hospital visits due to recurring health problems. They need to maintain crutches/calipers etc which require regular Wear and tear repairs. Every disabled person use pain killers almost every day. As such we have requested for payment of Rs.500/- PM as medical allowance. We have also represented for 5 additional casual leaves to the disabled employees as is being allowed to its disabled employees by the Government of India and also to the lady teachers in our state, so as to meet their recurring medical attendance. We request you kindly to recommend Rs.500/-pm as Medical allowance and 5 days of additional Casual leave in a year to all the disabled employees.

4. Full pension to the disabled employees: - The government has extended 10 years of age relaxation to the disabled persons in recruitments. Person who are getting the age relaxation are not putting up the required service for full pension, which will throw them in a financial hardship after their retirement. Therefore we request you kindly to recommend for payment of full pension ie half of the pay last drawn (as is being allowed in respect of enhanced family pension) without taking the service into consideration to all the disabled employees or the period which is short falling may considered as weight age as was given to SC and SC employees (copy enclosed for kind ready reference).

5. Mileage allowance:- Many of the disabled employees are not utilizing the LTC facility extended by the Govt. due to the problems in public transportation. The same problem is also being faced by them in official tours. We therefore request you kindly to allow mileage allowance to the disabled employees in official tours and LTC availment as is being allowed by Government of India (copy enclosed for kind ready reference).

6. Special Allowance for child care for women employees with Disabilities on the lines of Government of India:- The Government of India have provided extra benefits to women employees with disabilities especially when they have young children and children with disability with the following instructions.

Women with disabilities shall be paid Rs.1000/- per month as Special Allowance for Child care. The

allowance shall be payable from the time of the child’s birth till the child is two years old.

(i) It shall be payable for a maximum of two children.

(ii) Disability means a person having a minimum Disability of 40% as elaborated in Ministry of Welfare’s Notification No. 16-18/97-NI.I dated 1.6.2001.

(iii) The above limit would be automatically raised by 25% every time the Dearness Allowance on the revised pay structure goes up by 50%. The women employees with disabilities working in the govt. of Andhra Pradesh are also facing the same problems and difficulties at the time of when they have young children.

The Women employees with disability are subjected to more stress and strain compared with normal women employees, as their life itself burdensome to them and besides they have to play the roles of a mother, employee and house wife.

In view of the above I request you kindly to recommend for the special allowance on the lines of government of India to the women employees with disabilities

7. Deputation facility for acquiring further qualifications:- The government is allowing on Duty (Deputation) facility to the SC and ST employees for acquiring additional qualifications during the employment because of their late brought up and backwardness. The disabled persons are also facing the same problem of late brought up due to the deformity. We therefore request to kindly recommend the government to extend the OD facility to the employees with disabilities on par with the SC and ST employees.

8. Insurance Scheme to the disabled employees:- As per the Art.67 of the PWD Act, the Govt. has to frame an Insurance Scheme and instead of framing Insurance scheme an alternative Security Scheme may be framed for its disabled employees. Whereas this provision is not implemented even after lapse of 12 years. We therefore request you kindly, issue suitable orders for framing a Security Scheme or an Insurance Scheme for disabled employees.

9. Barrier free environment in offices :- The Employees with disability constitute weakest and cannot walk them selves, move by wheelchair and or with the help of others. It is a well known fact that all most all the office buildings, building entrances and immediate vicinities of buildings are unfriendly and inaccessible to disabled persons and most of the times disabled persons themselves make certain alterations and modifications to office environments where ever required at their own cost so as to maneuver inside office buildings and in the immediate vicinity of office buildings. Attending nature calls during office hours is another biggest nightmare for severely disabled persons. In terms of Sections 44, 45 and 46 of the PWD Act 1995, appropriate Government and Public Sector undertakings and local agencies shall provide barrier free environment in all office buildings and public utilities for easy access of persons with disabilities in the entire population. We request for reasonable and favorable recommendations in this issue.

10. Extending of pension to the disabled employees appointed on or after 01/09/2004:- we submit that the employees with disability, appointed, after introduction of Contributory Pension Scheme will not get the pension as is being allowed to the existing employees. According to CPS the employee has to contribute ten percent on the total of Pay+DA, without any option, resulting recovery of amount from the salary of the employee which is becoming a burden. This is applicable to all employees including disabled employees. The disabled employees, who are prone to additional & unavoidable expenditure, are unable to bear it. This will throw them into unstable and non secure future.

We also invite your kind attention to the Government of India policy on the pension to defense personnel, which remained unchanged. Therefore we request you kindly to recommend continuing the existing pension scheme which is in force prior to introduction of New Contributory pension Scheme, to employees with disability and extend the same to the Disabled Employees working in private and public undertakings including autonomous bodies. (or)) Formulate a new separate pension scheme for the disabled employees working in Government/private and public undertakings including autonomous bodies in the interest welfare of disabled employees.

11. RELAXATION IN TRANSFERS AND POSTINGS:- The disabled persons are generally dependents on somebody in their day to day life. Without the help of their spouse, relatives, and friends it is very difficult to stay in different places. The Government of India and the Banking Sector etc have evolved a separate transfer policy for transfers and posting of the disabled employees in their choice of place. In view of the above we request you kindly to recommend framing a transfer policy for retention / posting of the disabled employees to the places, where he desires to work, with relaxation of ban.

In view of the above, we request you kindly to consider the above problems and recommend rectifying the above problems under humanitarian grounds, for which act of kindness we shall be ever grateful and thankful to you sir.

Yours faithfully

(K.AMRUTH REDDY)

PRESIDENT