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GOVERNMENT OF PUDUCHERRY
SOCIAL WELFARE SECRETARIAT
(G.O. Ms. No. 5/SWS/2020-21, Puducherry, dated 17th September 2020)
NOTIFICATION
The Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice,
Government of India, has enacted a new law viz. "The Rights of Persons
with Disabilities Act, 2016" (No. 49 of 2016) [hereinafter referred in as
the said Act]. The Department of Empowerment of Persons with
Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government
of India, has appointed 19th April, 2017 as the date on which the
said Act shall come into force vide Notification S.O. No. l215(E);
dated 19th April, 2017.
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2020 } | 1 {
No. 47 Poudouchéry Jeudi
1
Octobre
2020
No.
Puducherry
Thursday
1st
October
2020
(9 Asvina 1942)
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LA GAZETTE DE L'ETAT
[PART–II
Whereas, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India,
has delegated the powers of the State Government under the Act to
the Administrators of all the Union Territories vide Notification
S.O. No. 3870(E), dated 12th December, 2017.
Whereas, section 21 of the abovesaid Act mandated that:–
(1) Every establishment shall notify Equal Opportunity Policy
detailing measures proposed to be taken by it in pursuance of the
provisions of Chapter-IV in the manner as prescribed by the Central
Government.
(2) Every establishment shall register a copy of the said policy
with the Chief Commissioner or the State Commissioner, as the case
may be.
Now, therefore, the Lieutenant-Governor, Puducherry, is hereby
pleased to approve the Equal Opportunity Policy for Persons with
Disabilities appended to this order in accordance with section 21 of the
said Act and Rules 8, 9 and 10 under Chapter-IV (Employment) of the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules, 2017 and further ordered that
all the Administrative Departments of this Union territory of Puducherry
shall implement this Policy and also display the Equal Opportunity Policy
preferably on their website, failing which, at conspicuous places in their
premises as prescribed under rule 8(2) of the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities Rules, 2017.
(By order of the Lieutenant-Governor)
P. PADMAVATHY,
Under Secretary to Government (Welfare).
POLICY STATEMENT
1. Introduction.— The Government of Puducherry has taken
special attention to ensure equal opportunities to the differently abled
persons in employment and creating an inclusive work place and work
culture in which all employees are treated with respect and dignity.
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LA GAZETTE DE L'ETAT
2. Purpose.— This Equal Opportunity Policy shall apply to every
Government Establishment of this Union territory of Puducherry which
aims to promote inclusiveness and strives to maintain a work
environment that is free from any harassment or discrimination of
persons with disability. It shall be the policy to provide equal
employment opportunities, without any discrimination of persons with
disabilities subject to the provisions of the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities Act, 2016 and Rules, eligibility and service conditions as
prescribed in the relevant rules and instructions issued from time to time.
3. Scope.— The Equal Opportunity Policy covers all persons with
disabilities, who come under the administrative control of this Union
territory of Puducherry. This Policy covers applicants with disabilities
in the Departments, regular, ad hoc, part-time/full-time employees interns,
trainees, contractual employees including temporary employees.
It covers those employees who acquire disability during their work
tenure.
4. Definition.— The definitions of different terms used in this
Policy will be as per section 2 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Act, 2016.
5. Commitment.— As specified in the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities Act, 2016 and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Rules, 2017, the Policy details includes:
Rights and Entitlements
(a) Equal Oportunity and Non-discrimination: All Government
Establishment of this Union territory of Puducherry shall follow the
below mentioned criteria in order to ensure non-discrimination in
employment:–
1. The Government Establishment of this Union territory of
Puducherry shall not discriminate against any persons with
disability in any matter relating to employment.
2. No person with disability shall be discriminated on the ground
of disability, unless it is shown that the impugned act or omission
is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
3. Every Government Establishment of this Union territory of
Puducherry shall provide reasonable accommodation, assistive
devices appropriate barrier-free accessibility and conducive
environment to employees with disability.
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[PART–II
4. The establishment shall not deny promotion to a person
merely on the grounds of disability.
5. The Government Establishment shall not dispense with or
reduce in rank, an employee who acquires a disability during his
or her service:
Provided that if, an employee after acquiring disability is not
suitable for the post he was holding, shall be shifted to some other
post with the same Pay Scale and service benefits.
Provided further that if, it is not possible to adjust the employee
against any post, he may be kept on a supernumerary post until a
suitable post is available or he attains the age of superannuation,
whichever is earlier.
(b) Identification of posts and Reservation: The identification
of posts and reservation for persons with disabilities shall be done as
per the Government directives issued from time to time.
(c) Manner of Selection: All the Government Establishment
shall adopt a transparent selection process based on merit and without
any bias to disabilities of the prospective candidates. Candidates with
necessary disability certificate issued in accordance with the rules by
the Competent Authority will only be considered for the identified posts.
The recruitment notification including special recruitment drives for
person with disabilities shall be notified in the appropriate print/
electronic media and to any other authority mentioned in the Act.
(d) Post recruitment training: The Government Establishment
will provide necessary training to the new recruits including persons
with disabilities to enable them to carry out their duties effectively. The
necessity of training, it types and methods shall be determined by the
Head of the Department.
(e) Transfer of Employees with Disabilities: The transfer and
postings of employees with disabilities shall be made in concurrence
with the para (h) of "Guidelines for providing certain facilities in respect
of persons with disabilities who are already employed in Government
for efficient performance of their duties" of the DoPT circular vide
O.M. No.36035/3/2013-Estt.(Res), dated 31-3-2014 and para Sl.No.15
of "Guidelines to improve the service conditions of the employees
with disabilities working in different sector" of the Welfare
Secretariat, Government of Puducherry, Circulated vide G.O. Ms. No. 23/
97-Wel.(SW-II), dated 4th March 1997.
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(f) Leave: The differently abled employees shall be governed
by leave rules as per Central Civil Service Leave Rules, 1972 read with
DoPT O.M. No. 36035/3/2013-Establishment (Res), dated 31-3-2014 of
Government of India as notified from time to time.
(g) Grievance Redressal/Liaison Officer: (1) As per provisions
of rule 8(3)(e) and rule 10(1) of Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Rules, 2017, an Officer may be designated as Liaison and Grievance
Redressal Officer in all offices who will be responsible for
adherence to this policy and also for redressal of complaints and
grievances of differently abled employees.
(2) The Liaison Officer shall be responsible for:–
(I) Implementing action plan for making the workplace and
IT systems accessible for people with disabilities by liaising
with the concerned officers.
(II) Ensuring that all employees are aware of the Equal
Opportunity Policy and know their duties and rights in
relation to the Equal Opportunity Policy.
(III) Developing proactive strategies to prevent discrimination
and harassment.
(IV) All employees have the responsibility to comply with the
Equal Opportunity Policy. The Liaison Officer needs to
monitor the work environment to ensure that it is free from
discrimination and harassment and encourages inclusion
and respect for others.
(V) Ensuring reservation of 4% Vacancies for person with
disabilities in the establishment. All recruitment proposals
must be routed through Liaison Officer.
(VI) The Liaison Officer will submit the quarterly progress
report to the Head of Department.
(3) As per sub-rule (2) of rule 10 of Rights of Persons with
Disabilities Rules, 2017, the Grievance Redressal Officer shall
maintain a register of complaints of persons with disabilities with
the following particulars, namely:–
(I) Date of complaint;
(II) Name of complainant;
(III) Name of the person who is enquiring the complaint;
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(IV) Place of incident;
(V) The name of establishment or person against whom the
complaint is made;
(VI) Gist of the complaint;
(VII) Documentary evidence, if any;
(VIII) Date of disposal by the Grievance Redressal Officer;
(IX) Details of disposal of the appeal by the District Level
Committee; and
(X) Any other information.
(h) Maintenance of Records: (i) Every Government Establishment
shall maintain records containing the following particulars,
namely:–
(a) The number of persons with disabilities who are employed
and the date from when they are employed;
(b) The name and gender and address of persons with
disabilities;
(c) The nature of disability of such persons;
(d) The nature of work being rendered by such employed
persons with disability; and
(e) The kind of facilities being provided to such persons with
disabilities.
(ii) Every Government establishment shall produce the records
maintained under these rules for inspection on demand to the
authorities under this Act and shall supply such information which
may be required for the purpose of ascertaining whether the
provisions have been complied with.
6. Facilities and amenities to be provided to the persons with
disabilities to enable them to effectively discharge their duties in the
establishment.— (a) All the Establishment of Government of Puducherry
shall aim to ensure that the physical infrastructure (buildings, furniture,
facilities and services in the building/campus and transportation) adheres
to accessibility standards as prescribed by the Government of India and
also aim to revamp its existing buildings within the time frame prescribed
under AIC, to ensure strict compliance with the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities Act, 2016.
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(b) Digital Infrastructure: All the Establishment shall ensure
that all the documents, communication and information technology
systems adhere to the accessibility standards as prescribed in the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities Rules, 2017, such as :
(i) Website Standards: Guidelines for India Government
Websites (GIGW), as adopted by Department of Administrative
Reforms and Public Grievances, Government of India.
(ii) Documents Standards: Electronic Publication (ePUB) or
Optical Character Reader (OCR) based pdf formats.
7. Compliance.—All the Heads of Departments of the respective
offices of this Union territory of Puducherry will be responsible for
implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and
rules framed thereunder.
8. Review of Policy.—The Equal Opportunity Policy will be
updated whenever there is an amendment in the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities Act, 2016 and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Rules, 2017. Review of Policy shall be undertaken at regular intervals.
————
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