Soon, Divyang Development Board to be formed in Gujarat

The Gujarat government is going to form a board for persons with disabilities in the state called Divyang (disabled) Development Board. The move is aimed at framing special policies and schemes for disabled persons. The state government is also mulling the formation of a university for persons with disabilities.

The minister of social justice and empowerment, Ishwar Parmar said, "The timeline set for formation of the Divyang Development Board is July 2019 and the government will form the board soon."

A state advisory board for disabled people had met on Tuesday.

Parmar said, "Gujarat government is coming up with an action plan to implement the provision of 4% reservation for divyang persons in government jobs. We are going to implement Disability Act, 2016 for this and we will also consider 21 types of disabilities instead of seven to qualify for the reservation."

The members of the board also said that there was a need for a special university for disabled persons in Gujarat.

"We believe there is a need for a university for divyang persons as they need special support and extra care. We will follow the required procedures for establishment of the university so that it could help divyang people in studies and vocational courses," Parmar added.

The minister also said that all the pending work related to disabled persons in the state would be completed by August 2019 and the board would meet thrice a year to review the work.

The board also reviewed actions taken by different state government departments for disabled persons.