Himachal failed to implement policy for disabled: Activist

An activist for rights of the disabled Sunday said the Himachal Pradesh government has failed to implement a policy for conducting exams for people with disabilities.

In a missive to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and Governor Urmila Singh, chairman of Umang Foundation, an NGO fighting for the cause of disabled, Ajai Srivastava said even a constitutional body like Himachal Pradesh State Public Service Commission has not implemented the policy.

Himachal Pradesh University in Shimla last week allowed visually impaired and physically challenged to engage a writer irrespective of his qualification in the exams.

But the state school education board, the Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry in Solan, the Palampur-based Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, besides state departments of higher and elementary education didn't implement the policy framed by the union government, Srivastava said.

"If the policy is not implemented by Dec 3 (International Day for Persons with Disabilities), I will initiate contempt of court proceedings against the defaulters," he added.

"On my public interest litigation, the state high court Jan 7 told the government and all other respondents in the case to pass 'appropriate' orders within eight weeks on the reliefs sought by the petitioner. Now more than 10 months have passed, no respondent, except Himachal Pradesh University, has implemented the policy," Srivastava told IANS.