CHENNAI: Disabled persons aren’t expecting new laws in party manifestos. What they want is implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. As S Namburajan, State general secretary, TN Association for the Rights of All Types of Differently-Abled and Caregivers (TARATDAC), puts it: “Persons with disabilities want dignity of life, which can be achieved only if they are empowered with jobs.” Compliance with the Act will reduce unemployment, poverty and homelessness among disabled persons, as it mandates that 5 per cent of jobs in the private sector and 4 per cent in the government sector must be reserved for persons with disabilities he says, adding that the backlog of vacancies must also be filled.
If the government can’t provide jobs, it should at least hike the disability allowance to Rs 3,000, like in Puducherry and Telangana, he argues. “Tamil Nadu only provides Rs 1,000.” Vaishnavi Jayakumar, of the Disability Rights Alliance, says political parties must pay attention to the Act’s guarantee of creating an accessible environment. “Accessibility via universal design is non-negotiable. Not just because it’s the law, but also because we’re fed up with able-ist majoritarianism as far as designing public transport or public spaces goes. People can’t even get go to school or for a movie.
We’re just stuck at home and invisible,” she says. Professor TMN Deepak, of the December 3 Movement, believes all local government posts must have adequate representation of persons with disabilities. “Schemes and assistance should also reach them properly,” he adds. Besides these structural changes, the community hopes the daily bottlenecks in government services will be eased. Significantly, the bottlenecks in getting a disability certificate - based on which benefits can be accessed - must be removed. R Pushpa, a disability rights activist, says the process is particularly difficult for those with mental illness. “Previously, NGOs could issue the certificate, but as per the new Act, only the government can.
So there are huge delays,” she says. D Gnanabharathi, president, Spinal Injured Persons Association, says he has been focusing on the certification process for the past two years. “The method of disability classification itself is wrong. For example, those with bladder issues are certified as having a 90% disability; those with sensory problems as 60%. But someone who has all those issues gets a certificate of 75% disability on grounds of it being a spinal cord injury,” he explains.
Gnanabharathi adds that scooters with side wheels should be given to amputees with a disability of over 60 per cent, and they should be provided free bus travel. District government hospitals should also set up a disability management department, he suggests. What the community wants The community hopes the Election Commission will better facilitate their participation in the electoral process. Even getting voter ID cards is difficult, says Punitha Suresh, social welfare associate at The Banyan. Similarly, persons with disabilities may struggle to avail the postal ballot service due to the difficulty in obtaining a disability certificate, activists add.
Demand for increase in allowance
State general secretary of TARATDAC says that if the government cannot provide jobs, it should at least hike the disability allowance to Rs 3,000 so as in Puducherry and Telangana
It’s universal adult franchise. But, for the marginalised, the ink on their finger after voting is the only reminder that they count in this democracy. Their needs and aspirations are invisible to this political society. Like in the case of persons with disabilities...