Disability act deadline ignored
The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act of 2016 led to new hope for India’s disabled persons by centering a rights-based approach that stepped away from a perspective that patronised this population. Significantly, the Act remedied a flaw in its predecessor, Persons with Disabilities Act of 1995, with regard to setting a deadline for states in making existing infrastructure accessible. The deadline—five years after the Central government brought out the relevant rules—passed on 15 June 2022. The RPWD Act also mandated that new infrastructure must be accessible and new private establishments could only get relevant building permission if in compliance with the rules. A step outside of one’s home will suffice to show that very little has changed.
According to the 2011 Census, about 2.2% of people in India are disabled. Experts believe the actual figure is more likely 15%. As per the Census, the literacy rate of disabled persons is 55%, about 20 points lower than the national average. Only 36% were employed. One factor that could bring a sea change in these statistics? An accessible environment. In the social model of disability, it is understood that it is not the person who is disabled but the environment that disables the person.
An orthopedically disabled person, for instance, may be able to travel independently for work with aids such as a wheelchair if the public infrastructure were suitably adapted. There are countries that have done so, allowing better opportunities for disabled persons. The key is universal design—accessible to all users be they children, aged, pregnant and/or disabled. This requires a change in the mindset of policymakers to approach such design not as a favour for a few but as empowerment for all.
Reports suggest only one state so far—Tamil Nadu—has sought an extension to comply with the accessibility mandate of the Act. All states must make this a priority and invest in understanding and practising universal design. The lives, happiness and unexplored potential of crores of Indians are at stake.