After the Delhi government took up the matter with the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Personnel clarified that the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, responsible for the administration of the law, was working on the issue and the rules will soon be notified.
Months after the Central government announced inclusion of acid attack victims in the disabled category, so that they could avail reservation in jobs under the Physically Handicapped (PH) category, the decision is yet to be notified. The delay prompted the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government to seek clarification from the Centre on the present status of the law that comes under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act.
After the Delhi government took up the matter with the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Personnel clarified that the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, responsible for the administration of the law, was working on the issue and the rules will soon be notified. The letter dated March 7, 2017, however, mentioned no deadline.
Meanwhile, as the number of acid attacks increases by the year, from 83 in 2011 to 349 in 2015, the Delhi government has been receiving numerous applications from the victims regarding the issue of their employment.
"This government has received communication from different quarters regarding providing employment to acid attack victims. The matter has been examined and it is found that the scheme for compassionate appointment, 1998, does not cover employment for acid attack victims and is solely related for appointment of dependent family members of government servants dying in harness or retired on medical grounds," the Delhi government wrote to the Home Ministry.
The government also sought Home Ministry's help in clarifying the issue of guidelines for the new rules as well confirmation on extending the reservation benefits to acid attack victims.
Former journalist Alok Dixit, who runs NGO Chaanv Foundation and the Stop Acid Attack (SAA) campaign, said they have been waiting for the last several years in vain. "We have been fighting cases in various courts. Even the Supreme Court has directed for a policy to rehabilitate acid attack victims but the government has not yet implemented anything," said Dixit, who is married to acid attack victim Laxmi Agarwal.
He further said the government should fix a deadline to issue the notification and that proper study and research should be done in this field as only reservations in job sector is not going to work. "Many victims were attacked while they were very young and had to quit their studies. There is no proper policy to rehabilitate them," he added.
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