CONCESSIONS TO PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED CENTRAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES – A SUM UP

Physically Challenged central Government employees and Disabled Central Government Employees are provided with various concessions in the form of additional Allowance, leave, reduced rate interest, out of turn allotment etc.

Those concessions are listed as follows. Readers are requested to write about additional concessions if any as comments to this article

1. Special Disability Leave

2. Ad Hoc allotment of quarter to Handicapped employee

3. Ad Hoc allotment of quarter to Handicapped employee

4. Reservation for Person with Disabilities

5. Age Relaxation, Fee Concession, and exemption from Typing Test while joining Central Government Service

6. Transport Allowance at double the rates

7. Income Tax Exemption for Physically Challenged and disabled Salaried Class Employees

8. Special Allowance for child care for women with disabilities and Education Allowance for disabled children of Govt. employees

9. Grant of Children Education Allowance at higher Rates

10. LTC facility for an escort accompanying single handicapped Government servant

11. Employees can use own / hired Car for LTC if employee or family member is Physically Challenged and disabled

1. SPECIAL DISABILITY LEAVE

Admissible to all employees- When disabled by injury intentionally or accidentally inflicted or caused in, or in consequence of the due performance of official duties or in consequence of official position.

When disabled by illness incurred in in the performance of any particular duty, which has the effect of increasing liabilities to illness of injury beyond the ordinary risk attaching to the civil post held under the same condition.

The disability should have manifested within three months of the occurrence to which it is attribute and the person disabled had acted with due promptitude in bringing it to notice. The leave sanctioning authority, if satisfied as to the cause of the disability, may relax the condition and grant leave in case where disability has manifested more than three months after the occurrence of its cause.

The disability should be certified by an Authorized Medical Attendant to be directly due to the particular duty. If it has been contracted during service other than with a military force, the leave sanctioning authority should be satisfied that the disability is exceptional in character.

The period of leave will be as certified by an Authorized Medical Attendant subject to a maximum of 24 month.

It may be granted more than once if the disability is aggravated or recurs in similar circumstances at a later date, but the maximum leave in consequences of any one disability should not exceed 24 months.

It may be combined with any other kind of leave.

It willas service for pension.

It will not be debited to the leave account.

The leave salary for the first 120 days will be the pay last drawn and for the remaining period, it will be equal to leave salary during half pay leave, in such cases, beyond the first 120 days the official may take half leave (at his credit) for another 120 days along with the special disability leave simultaneously and get leave salary equal to that on eared leave. The half pay leave so taken will be debited to his leave account.

If the official is entitled to any benefit under the Workmen’s Compensation Act the Employee’s state Insurance Act. The amount of leave salary will be reduced by the amount of benefit payable under the above Acts.

Appointing authors are competent to sanction Special Disability Leave-Rule 44 and 45.

2. SPECIAL CASUAL LEAVE

Special Casual leave not more than 10 days in a calendar year may be granted to attend Conferences/ Seminars/ Training/ Workshop related to Disability and devolvement– related programmers organized at national and State Level agencies, Absence in excess of 10 days may be treated as regular leave due and admissible and it can also combined with regular leave –On dated 14-11-2007.

3. AD HOC ALLOTMENT OF QUARTER TO HANDICAPPED EMPLOYEE

Ad hoc allotment of quarter to handicapped employees will be considered in the following cases:-

- The blind i,.e those who suffer form either of –

(a) Total absence of sight.

(b) Visual Acuity not exceeding 6/90 or 20/200(snellen) in the better eye with correcting lenses.

(c) Impression of the field of the vision subtending an angle of 20 degree or worse.

- The deaf, having hearing loss of more than 90 decibels in the better ear (profoundimpairment)or total loss of hearing in both ears.

- The orthopedicallly handicapped to the extent of 40% and above disability,

- Mentally handicapped / spastic dependents

 4. RESERVATION FOR PERSON WITH DISABILITIES

- Categories -

(a) Blindness or low vision;

(b) Hearing impairment;

(c) Locomoter disability or cerebral palsy. [Includes all cases of orthopedically handicapped persons.]

Reservation is admissible only for those who suffer form not less than 40 percent of relevant disability.

For Direct Recruitment.- admissible for all Groups, viz. Group ‘A’ ,Group ‘B’, Group ‘C’, Group ‘D’.

For promotion – Admissible to Group D and Group c posts only in which the elements of direct recruitment ,if any, does not exceed 75 percent [(i) within Group D (ii) form Group ‘D’ and(iii) within Group C].

Percentage of reservation – Three percent ( 1% for each of the three categories mentioned above). If a candidate of a particular category is not available or if the nature may be vacancy may be exchanged for a vacancy against another among the 3 categories.

Carry forward of reservation.- Unfilled reserved vacancies will be carried forward to the next block in he same year first .unfilled vacancies at the end of the year will be carried forward to the three subsequent year.

5. AGE RELAXATION, FEE CONCESSION, AND EXEMPTION FROM TYPING TEST WHILE JOINING CENTRAL GOVERNMENT SERVICE

 Age:

Central Government Post	Age Relaxation **
For Groups ‘C’ and ’D’   Posts/ services	10 years for recruitment through SSC/Employment Exchange
For Groups ‘A’ and ‘B’ Posts/services	10 years for recruitment through Open Competitive examinations

**5 year in other cases. This age relaxation is applicable to Disabled and Physically Challenged Candidates aspiring for Central Government Jobs. In respect of SC/ST/OBS candidates, this is over and above the admissible  relaxation of 5 years for SC/ST and 3 years for OBC.

Fee:

Physically Challenged and disabled Candidates aspiring for Central Government Jobs are exempted from examination fee / application fee for competitive examination conducted by UPSC / SSC for all posts.

Typing Test:

Physically Challenged Candidates are exempted from passing Typing Test which is mandatory for certain clerical Posts in Central Government Service, if medical board attached to Employment Exchange certifies that candidates who seeks exemption from Typing Test are unable to use typewriting machine.

6. TRANSPORT ALLOWANCE AT DOUBLE THE RATES

The blind or orthopaedically handicapped  employee in terms of this Ministry’s orders vide OM No 21(1) 97-E-II(B) dated 3.10.1997 shall continue to draw Transport allowance at double the normal rates mentioned in the table below. It is also specified by Government that Transport allowance in respect of Physically Challenged and disabled employees in no case, be less than Rs.1000 per month plus the applicable rate of dearness allowance.

The Normal rates of Transport Allowance are as follows.

Employees drawing grade of pay	Rate of transport allowance per month
	13 cities previously classified as ‘A-1’1’A’	Other Places
Grade Pay of  Rs. 5,400 and above	Rs. 3200+DA	Rs. 1600 + DA
(i) Grade Pay of Rs. 4.200, Rs. 4,600 and Rs.,4,800(ii) Grade Pay below Rs.4,200 but drawing pay in the pay band equal to Rs. 7,440 and above	Rs. 1600+DA	Rs. 800 + DA
Grade Pay Below Rs. 4,200 and pay in the pay band below Rs. 7,440	Rs.600+DA	Rs. 400 + DA

Note: Not admissible to Employees who have been provided with facility of Government transport.

7. INCOME TAX EXEMPTION FOR PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED AND DISABLED SALARIED CLASS EMPLOYEES / DEPENDENTS

As per Section 80 U Salaried Class Employee who are partially or totally blind or physically handicapped a sum of Rs.50,000 can be deducted from the total income of the assessee, if he is a person with disability and Rs.75,000 if he is a person with severe disability.Section 80DD allows a deduction to an individual or HUF if the person has incurred in the previous year any expenditure on medical treatment (including nursing), training and rehabilitation of a dependant with a disability or paid or deposited any amount under a scheme framed in this behalf by an insurer for the maintenance of a dependant with a disability.

A person with a disability is one suffering from not less than 40 per cent of a disability (as certified by a medical authority working in a hospital or institution notified by the Government), which could be blindness, low vision, leprosy – cured, hearing impairment, locomotor disability, mental retardation, mental illness.

Hearing impairment, for this purpose, means a loss of 60 decibels or more in the better ear in the conversational range of frequencies.

A person with disability also includes the one suffering from autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation or a combination of any two or more. Section 80DD allows a deduction of up to Rs 50,000 a year and if the disability is severe, up to Rs 1,00,000 a year. Severe disability means a person with 80 per cent or more of the disability.

8. SPECIAL ALLOWANCE FOR CHILD CARE FOR WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES AND EDUCATION ALLOWANCE FOR DISABLED CHILDREN OF GOVT. EMPLOYEES

Consequent upon the decision taken by the Government on the recommendations made by the Sixth Central Pay Commission for providing extra benefits to women employees with disabilities especially when they have young children and children with disability, the President is pleased to issue the following instructions :-

(a) 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 year old.

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

(c) 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.(Annexure)

(d) The above limit would be automatically raised by 25% every time the Dearness Allowance on the revised pay structure goes up by 50%.

9. GRANT OF CHILDREN EDUCATION ALLOWANCE AT HIGHER RATES

Children Education Allowance for disabled children of Government employees shall be payable at double the normal rates prescribed. After DA Crossed 50% Children Education Allowance and Hostel Subsidy have been fixed as Rs.15,000 and Rs.45,000 respectively. The rest of the conditions will be the same as stipulated vide OM No. 12011/03/2008-Estt. (Allowance) dated 2nd September, 2008 applicable in respect of Chidren Education Allowance.

10. LTC FACILITY FOR AN ESCORT ACCOMPANYING SINGLE HANDICAPPED GOVERNMENT SERVANT

LTC facility could be allowed for an escort who accompanies a handicapped Govt. servant on the journey subject to the following conditions:-

(i) Prior approval of the Head of the Department concerned is obtained on each occasion.

(ii) The nature of physical disability of the Govt. servant is such as to necessitate an escort for the journey. In case of doubt, the decision of the Head of the Department will be final.

(iii) The physically handicapped Govt. servant does not have an adult family member.

(iv) Any other person who is entitled to LTC does not accompany the handicapped Govt. servant on the journey.

11. EMPLOYEES CAN USE OWN / HIRED CAR FOR LTC IF EMPLOYEE OR FAMILY MEMBER IS PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED AND DISABLED

LTC Rules authorizes the Head of Department to allow use of own / hired car for LTC journey on account of disability of the Government servant or dependent family member after obtaining following documents to avoid misuse of such relaxation:-

(i) Medical Certificate from competent authority.

(ii) Undertaking from Government servant that journey in authorized mode is not feasible and he actually