Mumbai: In a recent development, five employees working in the BMC’s education department under the disabled persons quota have been found ineligible after a fresh medical evaluation revealed they had less than 40 per cent disability, the minimum required to qualify for reservation benefits.
The revelation came after a state-wide review, following growing concerns about the misuse of disability quotas across departments. These five individuals, who are among 135 employees appointed under the disabled quota, were flagged after a formal re-examination of 34 employees, reported Hindustan Times. The test results showed they did not meet the basic eligibility criteria.
On May 12, Santosh Munde, vice-chairperson of the ‘Sarkar Divyangchya Daari’ initiative under the state’s disability welfare department, reportedly issued a letter to the BMC commissioner urging that these employees’ services be terminated with immediate effect. The issue has also been raised by the Prahar Teachers’ Union, which has long questioned fraudulent appointments under the disabled category.
Prahar Janshakti Paksha’s city coordinator, Advocate Ajay Tapkir, highlighted that this discovery is part of a wider campaign to identify misuse of disability benefits. “After receiving numerous complaints from teachers, we launched follow-ups across districts and found many such cases,” Tapkir said as quoted by Hindustan Times.
Earlier in February 2025, the BMC’s education officer had called 85 employees to undergo medical re-verification, but a majority failed to comply. Of those who did, five have now been confirmed ineligible based on the updated medical reports.
Vikas Gughe, a representative from the Prahar Union, stressed the seriousness of the issue. “This is not merely an administrative oversight. It directly harms genuinely disabled individuals who need these jobs and rely on the quota system,” he said. He further demanded that all pending verifications be completed without delay and that respective deputy education officers submit detailed reports on the status of such appointments.
Gughe also called for strict measures, including the termination of the ineligible employees and recovery of the salaries paid to them over the years. However, a senior BMC official noted that the civic body currently lacks a formal policy to recover payments made in cases of fraudulent disability claims, raising questions about legal and administrative accountability. BMC Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani confirmed that the matter is under review by the education department and further action will be considered based on their findings.
