The government has initiated steps to make use of the technological advancement in the administrative sector, he said, and added that the State had come a long way in e-governance.

Underscoring the need to extended specialised training for the physically-challenged, Mr. Chandy said his government would take all efforts to equip the physically-challenged to utilise new opportunities.

The Chief Minister said that there was a backlog in filling up the 3 per cent reservation posts for the physically-challenged in government departments. According to him, 1,200 such posts remained vacant. “These reservation vacancies have not been filled for the past seven years,” he said. All departments have been asked to report the number of vacancies for the physically-challenged before March 31. “These vacancies will be filled at the earliest,” he said.

Need to expedite work

He said that the government would discuss the matter with Kerala State Public Service Commission to expedite the procedures.

Mr. Chandy said that reservation and other welfare measures for the physically-challenged were not extended out of generosity, but it was their right. “Compassion alone would not do, what we need is actions which would benefit the needy, he said.

In his introductory remarks, C.K. Aboobaker, president , KFB, called for setting up a separate department for the welfare of the physically-challenged. Presently, the department comes under the Social Welfare Department. A separate department, like in many other States, would help take up welfare measures more effectively, he said, He also called for raising the monthly pension for physically-challenged persons to Rs.1,000.

Jose K. Mani, MP, presided. Kottayam municipal chairman Sunny Kalloor, P. Unnikrishnan, V.K. Anil Kumar, and others spoke on the occasion.