Mumbai: Considering the significant population of persons with disabilities (PwDs), the state govt has directed that 1% of funds should be reserved for their welfare and empowerment in the district annual plans.
Instructions to the effect were given at the state-level district annual plan meeting for the year 2025-26 by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.
“The department of disability welfare has also taken up the activities related to obtaining the bill of lading for the proposed scheme,” an official said.
In 2023, the state cabinet cleared a decision to apply a 4% reservation in promotion to differently-abled employees in the state on the lines of the Centre. Officials said that as per the order of the central govt issued in May 2022, promotion reservation will be implemented in the state for disabled employees from Group-D to Group-A lower level.
According to the National Statistical Office (NSO), India – Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) in India – a statistical profile done in 2021, the state is ranked second with 11% for the highest number of PwDs. It is ranked third with 10.6% for homes for the highest number of children with disabilities (up to six years of age). The city is the country’s financial and entertainment capital, and of the 1.3 crore population, more than 2.6% are PwDs.
