Reservation to Persons with Disabilities in Railways: Government to ensure adequate representation as per Supreme Court’s order
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 615
ANSWERED ON 05.02.2021
RESERVATION FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN RAILWAYS
615. PROF. MANOJ KUMAR JHA:
Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:
(a) the number of Persons with Disabilities appointed in Railways during last three years and the current year, Zone-wise;
(b) whether cases of violation of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 in Railways, have come to the notice of the Government during the said period, and if so, the details thereof, Zone-wise;
(c) whether Railways have implemented Supreme Court’s order for extending three per cent reservation to Persons with Disabilities and if so, the details thereof, Zone-wise; and
(d) the other steps taken by Government to ensure adequate representation of Persons with Disabilities in Railways?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMERCE & INDUSTRY AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)
(a) to (d) : A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 615 BY PROF. MANOJ KUMAR JHA ANSWERED IN RAJYA SABHA ON 05.02.2021 REGARDING RESERVATION FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN RAILWAYS
(a) Zone-wise detail of the number of Persons with Disabilities appointed in Railways during last three years and the current year is as under:
| Zonal Railway | Number of Persons with Disabilities appointed in Railways | |||
| 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | |
| Central Railway | 114 | 62 | 85 | 39 |
| Eastern Railway | 36 | 31 | 20 | 4 |
| East Central Railway | 20 | 44 | 97 | 33 |
| East Coast Railway | 24 | 40 | 07 | 0 |
| Northern Railway | 12 | 18 | 147 | 58 |
| North Central Railway | 32 | 14 | 76 | 43 |
| North Eastern Railway | 05 | 49 | 14 | 7 |
| North East Frontier Railway | 33 | 01 | 70 | 10 |
| North Western Railway | 11 | 15 | 13 | 15 |
| Southern Railway | 39 | 1 | 94 | 2 |
| South Central Railway | 9 | 196 | 48 | 1 |
| South Eastern Railway | 0 | 0 | 94 | 2 |
| South East Central Railway | 11 | 16 | 11 | 14 |
| South Western Railway | 29 | 09 | 32 | 07 |
| Western Railway | 32 | 109 | 190 | 70 |
| West Central Railway | 10 | 16 | 55 | 9 |
| Total | 417 | 621 | 1053 | 314 |
- No, No cases of violation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act, 2016 (which is the new Act in place of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995) have come to Ministry of Railways’ notice.
- Yes, Sir. Zone-wise details of recruitment are provided in part (a)
- In addition to provision of reservation, PwBD candidates are given following exemptions/relaxations and facilities in open market recruitment to non-gazetted posts on Railways:
- Such candidates are charged a lower amount of ₹ 250 as exam fee, compared to ₹ 500 from non-exempted category and that too is refunded if the candidate appears in the written
- There is a provision of giving relaxation of up to 2 marks to PwBD candidates in the minimum qualifying marks for each category, , UR (Unreserved)/SC (Scheduled Caste)/ ST(Scheduled Tribe)/OBC (Other Backward Classes).
- Upper age limit relaxation of 10 years is given in addition to community-wise age
- Exemption is given from appearing in Physical Efficiency Test (PET) conducted for Level-1 recruitment
- PwBD candidates of several disability categories are also provided assistance of Scribes for appearing in recruitment
COMMENTS