AHMEDABAD: An audit of 3,092 head offices of 22 major government departments in Gujarat revealed in the Administrative Report of the Commission for Persons with Disabilities for the year 2021-22 that six years after the implementation of an Act, these departments still lack adequate facilities, including easy access.
There are no parking spaces for the disabled in 1,921 offices, and there are no bathrooms for them in 1,414 offices. According to the Disabilities Commissioner’s Administrative Report for the year 2021-22, an audit of 3,092 government main offices revealed the absence of basic amenities such as ramps in around 800 offices after six years of the passage of the Act.
According to the Report, out of 3,092 offices 2,292 offices have ramps, while 744 government offices do not have ramps in accordance with Government of India rules, and 788 offices have no ramps at all.
Notably, 1,620 government facilities have restrooms that are accessible to people with disabilities, while 1,414 do not. Additionally, 201 Government workplaces have audio signals in lifts for the deaf and mute, while 156 offices do not.
According to government rule, parking facilities for the disabled have been established in 404 government offices, whereas there are 1,921 workplaces with no such facilities. Sameer Kakkad, founder of the NGO All India Handicap Association that works for the disabled alleged that “even this report is not trustable.”
“I filed an RTI with the Gujarat RTO Commissioner’s office, asking how many buildings are accessible to disabled individuals. They responded that the Ahmedabad and Vastral offices are totally accessible, but I noticed that these buildings are barely accessible,” said Kakkad.