LAHORE, Feb 14: The City District Government has miserably failed in timely issuing disability certificates to thousands of applicants, thus depriving disabled people from applying for quota seats in government departments and from getting special allowances and free transport facilities, officials told TheNation on Friday.

The CDG’s social welfare department has not issued certificates to those who had applied and got themselves examined from medical boards over six months back, causing the applicants to go from one office to the other to get their rights but all in vain.

The officials, however, held the medical boards responsible for the inordinate delay, saying the CDG could issue certificates only after receiving report from the medical experts and they (medics) were paying no heed despite several reminders.

“Although disabled people have status of special persons across the world and are being treated accordingly but in Pakistan they are the most deprived segment of the society”, insiders commented.

They further informed that hundreds of disabled persons visited the department daily to get their certificates which were must for claiming facilities including free public transport, jobs from quota fixed in government departments, zakat, compensation allowance from baitulmal, and Benazir Income Support Programme.

The insiders said their applications were being deferred without any solid reason, which caused massive nuisance for the disabled as most of them were already unable to move frequently due to their disabilities. The department was taking four to six months in issuance of each medical certificate which was very painful to the disabled, they further said.

They maintained the delay was creating serious problems for those having no other source of income except the funds of baitulmal and those who wanted to apply for government jobs. Without the disability certificates these special persons could not submit their application forms within given dates, they added.

Source: http://nation.com.pk