‘Disabled officers should be given appropriate work’

Delhi police commissioner Alok Kumar Verma has directed his officers to ensure disabled personnel in the force are assigned work in accordance with their physical condition. Soon after it was brought to his notice that a considerable number of the police personnel posted in different districts and units were not fit for policing duties due to different types of disabilities, the city police chief ordered that the competent authority should immediately identify the types of jobs which could be easily performed by such personnel.

In a circular issued on behalf of the police commissioner, DCP (east) R.A. Sanjeev also ordered that grievances related to differently-abled police personnel should be heard patiently and looked into with due care. “It is further desirable that such personnel should not be subject to any kind of discrimination.”

According to the circular, disability is generally a physical or mental condition caused by an injury or disease that prevents an employee from performing the essential functions of the job assigned to them. It also clarified partial disability was a disability that prevents an employee from performing the normal duties, but does not prevent them from doing duties of some other nature.

In order to support and promote healthy service conditions for differently-abled police personnel, Mr Verma said services of such personnel could be utilised in canteens, tea stalls, store rooms, record rooms, watch rooms, libraries, study rooms, recreation rooms, gyms and computer and cyber rooms.

He, however, made it clear that the differently-abled personnel should be assigned only those jobs which are consistent with their physical condition. While assigning such duties, the city police chief said the competent authority should also determine the employee’s qualifications.

The police chief directed that the differently-abled personnel should be placed with an experienced employee for at least a month on resuming responsibility of any particular post. He said such a measure would help them to pick up skills required to perform their respective jobs and also the adaptations that may be required in individual cases.

The circular said that the competent authority shou-ld also provide easy accessibility and barrier-free environment for differently-abled personnel. “All co-ncerned should take necessary steps to provide easy access from main building entrance to their work stations and to common utility areas such as toilets and canteens. All such areas sh-ould be made easily accessible.”