My notes from the seminar: “challenges in the implementation of the RPD Act” 2016 organised by the office of Chief Commissioner of Persons with Disabilities Date: 16th March 2017 Venue: Bharatiya Pravasi Kendra Chanakyapuri Inaugural session
Speaker: SK Prasad gave an overview of the seminar. Speaker: Joint Sec and chairperson of National Trust Mr Mukesh Jain Mr Jain: “though the audience is not very big, but the all sitting here have the capacity to change the sector manifold”. Mr Jain: disability does not reside within individuals but it exists in the society. Mr Jain: there are 3 kind of challenges to implement the RPWD Act. 1. Substantive challenges: how to make intervention at the ground level. Healthcare, education and employment fall under substantive challenges. Mr Jain: disability policy should not be the afterthought, it should be built in all the policies. Challenge II: structural challenges Mr Jain: how to make all people with disabilities aware about the provisions under the RPWD Act. If we are able to achieve this, majority of our challenges will go away. Mr Jain: 2.68 crores people with disabilities are not sitting only in Delhi and Mumbai, they are their in the villages and making them aware about their rights should be the key. Mr Jain: if we are to bring accessibility, we will have to train, municipal workers, and the other stakeholders such as SP, DSP and the Majistrates. Mr Jain: removal of prejudice against PWDS. Publick employers should be made aware of the skills of PWDS. Mr Jain: procedural challenge: all state CCPD offices should become the centre for the monitoring and coordinating of the schemes. Speaker: KK Pandey (CCPD) Mr Pandey: though the numbers comprising of state commissioners, NGO representatives government officials and the researchers are less but we should not forget you are the seed which will germinate and bring out the necessary change required in the country. Mr Pandey: In Maharashtra, Gulab Ray Maharaj was the one blind ‘divyang’ who wrote 150 books thousand years ago. Mr Pandey: ‘Divyang’s have always contributed for the nation. They are not burdens what they need an opportunity. Of late science has won over disability. Anyone can become ‘divyang’ so we all should be aware about its challenges. Mr Pandey: In the last 2 and a half years, the government of India has organized more than 4 thousand equipment distribution camps and moore than 6 lakhs ‘divyang’ have got benefited. The government had to incur around Rs 4 crore for this initiative. Mr Pandey: We are now moving from the charity approach to the rights approach. Mr Pandey: the government wants to implement the RPWD Act on the Ambedkar Jayanti on 14th April 2017. Remember the PWDA 1995 took 3 years to see its rules notified. You can thus see the commitment of the Modi Government. Mr Pandey: There is no fixed format in the disability sector. Its evolving and we have to remain vigilance. Its not a sector where trade union operates. We have to find solution with consensus in the sector. Mr Pandey: There is need to give opportunity to all ‘divyangjan’ of the country. I end here Thank you. Speaker: N S kang Secretary DEPWD Mr Kang: The government and the civil society need to work in tendom to see that the law is implemented effectively. Mr Kang: on the 10th of March we put the draft of the rules on our website, please send suggestions. Send us your objections soon so that we could publish the rules on 14th on April on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti. Mr Kang: the larger challenge is to how we make disabled people aware about their entitlements envisaged under the legislation. Mr Kang: in the last 2 years, we have sceen great change in the attitude of peoplw towards PWDs which is encouraging. We should carry on the momentum. We are determined to ensure equal status for the people with disabilities. Avinash: We break for tea now. We are heading towards the lift which is Braille-embedded. The people have now started networking. Some NGO representatives are looking desperate to meet government officials. They have to show their credentials. My friend Yogesh and Me both totally blind have found a table and one of the CCPD Office officials has instructed her colleagues to take care of our tea and snacks requirements. On my table, I happen to meet one woman who has a son who has multiple disabilities. She sstrikes a conversation: ‘Hi’, I responded Hellow! We discussed inclusive schooling and debated the prose and cons. Then we are meeting the State CCPD of Nagaland, who informes us that as per 2011 Census, in Nagaland there are only 29 thousand six hundred children have disabilities. He lamented that his office is clubbed with the social welfare department, and fund scarcity is the huge problem. We are done with tea. Next Session: panel Discussion “challenges in the grievance redressal under RPD Act Mr Dhariwal (former Deputy CCPD chairs the session Speaker: Mr Mukesh Jain (JS DEPWD) Mr Jain: CCPD should not only address a grievance of a particular complant, but it should also recommend that similar violation doesn’t take place in other establishments. Speaker: Uma Tuli former CCPD MRs Tuli: When I was CCPD people were fearful of my power. Mr Tuli: not only CCPD, but the civil society, media and the educational institutions need to join hands to oversee that less violation of the provisions occur. Mrs Tuli: once I organized a seminar and invited parliamentarians to participate. We invited people with disabilities to show their skills. There was a visually challenged typist and he took dictation and wrote a flowless letter. Then one of the MPS instantly stood up and said: “I’ll fire my current secretary and hire him” the house resonates with huge applause! Mrs Tuli: the stage and the dius where we are sitting is inaccessible. No wheelchair could come on the stage. Then one officials rebuffs Mrs Tuli: “madam, the door on your back is rolling one which enables wheelchair come aboard on the dius…” Next Speaker: PK Pinchaw (former CCPD) Mr Pinnchaw: This Act seeks to amplify the civil and political rights of PWDS. Mr Pinchaw: If I am Divyang, then trust me you all are divyang. Including the minister and the other government officials. Mr Pinchaw: The powers of CCPD and the State CCPDS have been widened under the Act. But the quality enhancement of the powers of the CCPD and the State CCPDS have not been enhanced. Mr Pinchaw: section75(B) CCPD instead of consulting advisory body should have discretionary powers to take suuomotive decisions. Next speaker: Mr SK Rungta Mr Rungta: Before I talk about the challenges, I want to talk about some facts from the history. We need to think about how the challenges before CCPD different in the RPD Bill than they had in the PWDA 1995 act. The difference is that in the RPD Act we have 3 commissioners and one advisory committee. Mr Rungta: The word Recommendation in the Act is problematic. And You have gone ahead and said that the government department may inform whether it wants to accept the recommendation or not within stipulated time. That’s over. Mr Rungta: there is another problem, if any publick servant commits an offence then one needs to take sanction. What is this if not cercomvention. Mr Rungta: There is no clarity about what role an advisory committee will play. Mr Rungta: There is a need to mainstreaming of grievance redressal cell with other laws such as labour laws. Why it was not done in the Act if could be done under the rules. Next Speaker: AK Awasthi (JT Sec CCPD) Mr Awasthi: rules will continue to be amended. Beyond 14th April th day when we are likely to publish. Mr Awassthi: One information: today Election Commission has launched the website where there is a separate column for the registration of different types of disabilities. Mr Awasthi: The Centre is formulating the rules but the key is when different states create rules and notify. We may also prepare model draft once we are done with publishing of rules for the Central Government Department. Next Speaker: Sara Varghese (CBM) Mrs Varghese: I’ve been asked to speak here cause we work at the grassroot through our partners. Mrs Varghese: we need to create awareness at all levels. Mrs Varghese: we will have to think that how we can coordinate discussion amongst different types of disabilities. Mrs Varghese: people with disabilities should be included in the disaster management preparedness programmes. Mrs Varghese: the basic principle of the disability movement ‘Nothing about us without us’ is there in this room. But how many committees at the village and the district levels have PWDs on the committees roles. Next Speaker: Mr Dhariwal Former Deputy CCPD Mr Dhariwal: creating of funds in the states is a challenge. The Central government provides funding to the DEPWD but what about states where separate disability department is non-existent in the majority of states. We need to organize one conference with the Chief Ministers of all the states where Prime Minister appeals them to take up the fund creation challenge seriously. We break for lunch now. networking beguns. I’m hearing numbers being exchanged. Now I happen to meet one of the employee with disability in the CCPD Office. She is a woman who has locomotor disability. She shares her agony of inaccessible bus-stops in Delhi. My friend Yogesh soon heard Prof Dayal sir voice and alerts me “dayal sir is also here” we exchanged pleasantries. The food is very tasty indeed. The pure Punjabi-Delhi cuisine. We were served food on the table by the caterers. The CCPD Office seemed to be mindful of the fact that blind guys need attendant and they took care of it. We are done with lunch and tummy is full. Lets go back to the seminar hall where next session is about to take off. Next session: on the same issue continues Speaker: Dr Anil Aneja EOC head DU Mr Aneja: the first challenge which I see as a hurdle is section 3(3) which deals with discrimination. Mr Aneja: there are certain clauses in the act which offer escape route to the government from not abiding by the law in true spirit. Mr Aneja: Unfortunately, in the section32 under the act, There has no clear guidelines available to implement 5 per cent reservation in the higher educational institutions. The provision for providing assistive tools to pWDs in higher education is not envisaged under the act. Mr Rungta who’s chairing the session responds to Dr Aneja. Mr Rungta: We are fighting for the section 3(3) to be more stronger as far as protection of PWDS from discrimination. Next Speaker: Mr Subhash Vashishth Mr Vashishth: Unless you invoke the law it doesn’t work. Mr Vashishth: Section4 The positive interpretations and provisions of older laws and judgment should be retained. Mr Vashishth: Section 3(5)Reasonable accommodation is not properly defined for the each type of disabled category. Mr Vashishth: perhaps the government alone can’t bring transformation in the lives of pWDs. Mr Vashishth: the Office of CCPD has undue responsibility in the Act but it lacks shortage of staf and resources. The situation at the state level is more pathetic. Mr Vashishth: The promotion aspect should be taken care of. The career growth of employees with disabilities should not be obstructed due to unavailability of assistive tools. Mr Vashisht: the insurance should not be only for employees with disabilities. Mr Vashisht: the law doesn’t incorporate the responsibility of private schools which is disturbing. Mr Vashisht: section 34 is only restricted to identified disabled categories. What about those disabled categories who are related to blood-related disorders. They have nothing in the law. Let me give some of my observations Avinash: I’m skipping some of the speakers cause they are just celling their NGOs through PPTs and their points are of no relevance to the seminar theme. Sorry, My discretion, since its my nnotes; no? Few important details to note: No deaf representatives no sighn language interpretation. And the seminar is of national character, they say. No woman with disability among the speakers in the entire seminar. No SC/ST/religious minorities speakers on the dius. Sorry, the sociological analyses is needed cause it’s a national seminar! Next Speaker: Prof Gaba from IGNOU Mr Gaba: I don’t think we will be able to provide justice to all 21 categories of disabled people in the coming 100 years. Next speaker SK Mishra IGNOU Mr Mishra: I searched the whole act and found the mentioning of the word ‘university’ only at two places. Sohigher education has been neglected and it should find special mentioning in the rules. Mr Mishra: we have two model universities in the disability sector. RambhatraCharya University in Chitrikut in 2001 and Shakuntala Mishra Rehabilitation University in Lucknow 2008. Mr Mishra: the 11 five year plan made provision for setting up of disability studies in the universities and twelve plan proposed to provide incentives to disabled pupil and faculty. And it also proposed to provide funding to universities to be disabled-friendly. Mr Mishra: The IGNOU has the enrolment of around 10 thousand students with disabilities. Avinash: Very interesting figure indeed. Mr Mishra: our reading materials are accessible to all distant students. Mr Mishra: the biggest challenge for imparting the distance education is the lack of regional study centres equipped with disability-sensitive model. Next Speaker: Satender Singh GTB Hospital Dr Singh: Neither I’m divyang nor mr Awasthi, but we have different outlook to view our problems. The ramp leading to the stage is too uneven that one employee of the CCPD Office wanted to give flower-pot to one of the speakers but couldn’t climb. The ‘accessible toilet’ on the second floor has no light inside. Mr Singh: In the Budget 2017-18 nowhere the Finance Minister talked about the RPD Bill. From where the money will flow to implement the Act? Mr Sinngh: as per ‘sugamya Bharat Abhiyan’ We should have achieved A1/A2 stations around 1081 stations should have been accessible by now. But where are we, go to New Delhi Railway Station you would not find a lift. Mr Singh: The allocation for the promotion of sports among disabled has been slashed to 0.4 crores from last year’s Rs 4 crore. It all happened when disabled players won medals in the Paralympics and the Twenty WC cricket cup for the blind. Mr Singh: the clubbing of different types of disabilities in the reservation bracket will lead to infighting among the different groupings. AAH! The speakers have eaten time for the next session which was open session and we didn’t get the opportunity to listen the state commissioners who have travelled from different parts of the country to share their challenges which they encounter on the ground. And We also can’t ask questions. Perhaps this has become the norm in government-sponsored seminars where speakers tactically eat out time and leave no scope for the audience and the observers. Anyway, Mr Gehlot the Minister will grace the occasion in the final session. The final session Valedictory Mr Gehlot MSJE is gonna address the audience. Mr Gehlot: A human being’s life is always better if we are in student mode. Learning is a continuum craving. Mr Gehlot: we are not keeping with the pace in the disability empowerment and need to step our efforts to catch up with the develop world. Mr Gehlot: our culture our tradition have been of vasudhev kutumbhakun; but are we really inclusive for the ‘divyang’? lets introspect. Lets shun the attitude of contempt towards the ‘divyang’. Mr Gehlot: we are planning to provide universal identity card to the ‘divyang’. The card will be valid throughout the country. Mr Gehlot: New announcement: from 1st April 2017, we will start coaching classes for children with disabilities in the country. Mr Gehlot: general people keep complaining, why are you giving this reservation to the disabled. Where will we go? opportunities are limited in the publick sector. Mr Gehlot: I was in Scotland recently where representatives of 65 countries came to the conference, and I am elated to inform you they have acknowledged in their speeches the efforts being taken by the Modi Government for the empowerment of the PWDs. Mr Gehlot: in the last two and a half years we have organized more than 4 thousand 7 hundred publick camps and distributed equipments. Mr Gehlot: I’m happy to see those disabled who were dependent upon their parants now take care of their families. This is the spirit which encourage us. Friends, that’s the end of the seminar. I however would like to mention that They don’t realize the fact that democracy is a system where regimes get changes. that there were many speakers from our community who were very opportunistic. What they say in rallies or on Access India they actually sound opposite in front of the minister. I need not to name, I know they will mind their behavior. I can also sing song of the government but sorry this doesn’t suit my vocation and profession. I am not into NGO business, I’m a pure academician and works for the entire nation. I know the power of democracy and can’t give in before the wave which is too temporary. -- Avinash Shahi Doctoral student at Centre for Law and Governance JNU Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. 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