Jasmeet Singh Sandhu, a 2016 batch IAS officer, serving as collector of newly created Salumber district, has been awarded with National Award for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities for the year 2024 in New Delhi on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
Another IAS officer from Rajasthan Ankit Kumar Singh, who is collector of neighbouring Dungarpur district has also been bestowed with this award.
The President of India Droupadi Murmu gave away the award to the young collector, who had been collector of Phalodi earlier. Sandhu's wife Artika Shukla, also an IAS officer of his batch, is serving as Collector of Alwar district.
Sandhu has been awarded for running a special campaign for persons with disabilities (PWD) – ‘Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan'.
Under the campaign, more than 1,000 government buildings in the district have been made accessible to the disabled. For this, ramps and lifts were constructed after home-to-home survey for identifying number of Divyangjans in the district.
Sandhu said that more than 5,900 disability certificates and 4,400 UDID cards have been issued to ensure better accessibility and awareness for the Divyang community in collaboration with NGOs and various departments.
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