News Highlights
Uncertainty over Accessible India Campaign deadline to achieve the targets extended.
Focus Points
- The deadline was extended to March 2020 and then again to June 2022
- Other Issue
- The Central Advisory Board on Disability which is chaired by the Social Justice Minister and is required to meet once every six months by the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, has not had a meeting since November 2020.
- Pandemic Effect
- As per official the delay is due to the spread of Covid – 19.
- Achievements
- 48.5% of State government buildings had been made accessible, almost at the target of 50%.
- Progress on public transport was less, with only 8.73% of buses fully accessible as against the target of 25%.
- All 35 international airports were accessible and all A and B category railway stations too, the data showed
Disabilities
- Disability arises from the interaction of people with disabilities and psychological and environmental limitations that prevent them from fully participating in society on an equal footing with others.
- People with disabilities are people who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments that, when combined with additional impediments, prevent them from fully participating in society on an equal footing with others.
Disabilities in India
- According to Census 2011, India’s population with disabilities is roughly 26.8 million, or 21% of the overall population.
Accessible India Campaign
- Launch – Launch in 2015 by Prime Minister
- Ministry – Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
- Aim – The Campaign’s goal is to create a barrier-free and welcoming environment for Divyangjans (those with disabilities) across the country.
- Components of Accessible India Campaign
- Built Environment Accessibility
- Transportation System Accessibility
- Information and Communication Eco-System Accessibility
- The following strategies were implemented as part of the scheme:
- Leadership endorsements of the campaign,
- Mass awareness,
- Capacity building through workshops,
- Interventions like legal frame-work, technology solutions, resource generation, etc.
- Leverage corporate sector efforts in a Public-Private Partnership.
Constitutions Backing For Disabled People
- Article 41 of the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) states that State shall make effective provision for securing right to work, to education and to public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement, within the limits of its economic capacity and development.
- Article 17 – No person including the disabled irrespective of his belonging can be treated as an untouchable. It would be an offence punishable in accordance with law as provided by Article 17 of the Constitution.
- Article 21 – Every person including the disabled has his life and liberty guaranteed under the Constitution.
Legislature Backing
- The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995.
International Obligations
- India is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
Pic Courtesy : Economic Times, MyGov. in
Content Source : The Hindu