After the trainee IAS Pooja Khedkar case came to light, questions have been raised on the disability quota in civil services. Amidst this debate, a post by Telangana IAS officer Smita Sabharwal has started a new debate. She has directly questioned the issue of giving disability quota in civil services. She believes that there should not be a disability quota in such services. After this, many people have stood in her support, while many have raised their voice against her.
what is the pooja khedkar case
Before moving ahead, let us briefly know what the Pooja Khedkar case is. Actually, Maharashtra cadre trainee IAS officer Pooja Khedkar is accused of taking wrong advantage of the disability quota and getting a post by submitting a fake certificate. While UPSC has filed an FIR against her, Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy has removed her in the middle of her training.
Pooja is accused of taking undue advantage of the OBC category and getting a post under the disabled category, but she did not appear for the medical test despite being called several times. She was in controversy for roaming around in an Audi with a red-blue light and a sticker of the Maharashtra government.
What is IAS Smita’s post?
It has been some time since this issue was raised and recently Telangana IAS officer Smita Sabharwal posted a post in which she said that there should be no disability quota in services like civil services. An administrative officer has to do hard work, has to stand for hours and has to communicate directly with the public, so it is important for the candidate to be physically fit.
Such candidates should get a place in other administrative and respectable services according to their capabilities but this quota in civil services is not right. He also gave an example that does anyone get a plane flown by a handicapped pilot or does anyone get a surgery done by a PH surgeon. Civil services should also be seen from this perspective. After this post of his, many people have stood against him and this debate has heated up.
what are the rules
After this case, the question is being raised strongly whether there should be a disability quota in the civil services. Pooja has received a certificate of 7 percent disability, whereas the rule is that only if a person is at least 40 percent disabled, then he can get the benefit of this quota. UPSC reserves four percent of its vacancies for disabled candidates. This comes under the reservation policy which is according to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 and the Indian Government’s order on reservation for persons with disabilities.
Also read: Who has the authority to remove an IAS officer from his job?
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