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Govt officials with disabilities to get 4% quota in housing pool

Govt officials with disabilities to get 4% quota in housing pool

Indian Express22-05-2025
The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry on Thursday decided to extend a 4% reservation for persons with disabilities (PwD) in the General Pool Residential Accommodation (GPRA), which will cover houses up to Type 5, benefiting officials from Assistant Section Officer (ASO) level to Director rank, it is learnt.
The Directorate of Estates under the Ministry issued an office memorandum on Thursday applying the reservation.
'In order to promote the rights of People with Disabilities, laid down in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (RPWD), 2016 the Directorate of Estates, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has decided to adopt the reservation of 4% for the allotment of GPRA to eligible Government servants,' it said.
Those Central government servants who have benchmark disabilities, as laid down in the RPWD Act, will be given priority for allotment of GPRA every month, it said. In order to be considered for accommodation, all government servants can participate in the monthly online bidding process carried out by the Directorate of Estates.
'The eligible PwD applicants would be given priority over the unified waiting list for both initial allotment/change of GPRA. The Unique Disability ID (UDID) card issued by the Government will be a valid document for proof of disability,' the OM said.
According to government sources, when a government servant joins as an ASO, it takes about 15 years to be allotted a home due to the shortage of housing. As of now, the waiting period for some categories is up to 18 years, an official said. Some government servants who have disabilities are forced to stay in hostels and away from their families due to the lack of housing, the official said.
Overall, the Directorate of Estates manages 1.02 lakh GPRA units across 355 locations in 61 cities.
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