Disability certificates to be reverified, staff miffed

Ravneet Singh

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Patiala, December 20

The state Department of Social Justice and Empowerment has directed the differently abled government employees to get their disability certificates re-verified at PGI, Chandigarh, in order to circumvent fake documents. This has left the employees disappointed and stressed as they have been making rounds to the hospital but are returning disappointed because the PGI has not started the process yet.

Officials at the PGI said the government did not seek their consent.

An employee from Bathinda said, “I paid a visit to the PGI with the help of a relative last week, but they have not yet started the process. So we had to return home. The staff at the hospital simply directed us to e-mail the documents.”

Another employee said he received the same response from PGI over the phone. “We should be able to get the certificates re-verified at the nearby civil hospitals itself,” he said.

Officials at the hospital said they have been receiving numerous requests for re-verification but they cannot process them.

PGI Director said the department should have sought appropriate consent from his office first. “PGI administration’s opinion on the matter was not asked. The certificates can easily be verified at a civil hospital,” he said.

According to doctors, both mental and physical disability could be checked at any civil hospital in the state but Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities Minister Dr Baljit Kaur said, “PGI was selected for the process as it is a premiere institute of the region. We wanted to break the nexus involving misuse of certificates as we get regular complaints regarding the issue from local doctors. I will look into the matter and find a substitute for the process.”