SHILLONG, July 22: Nearly eight years after the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act became law, Meghalaya’s disabled community has accused the state government of “statistical window-dressing” and maintaining digital barriers that effectively bar them from public service.
The Meghalaya unit of the Association for Empowerment of Divyangjan (AED) on Wednesday alleged a systematic lockout of persons with disabilities (PwDs) from government employment.
Following a meeting with State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities Lyngkor Kynjing, the association submitted a memorandum demanding an immediate end to institutional neglect.
AED president Jitendra Dkhar challenged official RTI responses that claim “zero backlog vacancies” for PwDs. He asserted that reservation backlogs have not been calculated in accordance with Supreme Court rulings or the 2016 Act, suggesting the government is obscuring the true extent of its recruitment failures.
“Many qualified candidates clear written examinations on merit only to face discrimination at the interview stage,” Dkhar said. He added that the exclusion begins even earlier, as government recruitment portals remain inaccessible to visually impaired applicants due to a lack of screen-reader compatibility and sign language support.
The association is demanding a retrospective audit of reservation backlogs dating back to 1995. They are also calling for the mandatory four per cent reservation in government jobs and the implementation of social security schemes under the RPWD Act.
While Commissioner Kynjing assured the association that their grievances would be “examined” and forwarded to relevant departments, the AED has set a strict timeline for action.
The association has demanded that all backlog vacancies be advertised within three months, with at least 50 per cent of reserved posts filled within six months.
“If these fundamental issues are not addressed, we will be compelled to pursue legal remedies and launch peaceful democratic agitations across the state,” Dkhar warned.
