*Sangeetha Neeraja * *10 Mar 2011* *CHENNAI*: The State-level consultation on the working draft of the new Disabilities Act 2011 began in Chennai on Wednesday, amidst slogan shouting by activists from various disability rights associations. Their protest over not being invited delayed the event by over two hours.
The aggrieved activists -- who themselves were physically handicapped -- raised their voice in unison seeking a comprehensive Act for the disabled and scrapping of the national committee that failed to deliver it. “Initially, when they formed a national committee, the supposed mandate was to bring in a comprehensive law that will replace the existing four laws, such as the Disability Act, 1995, National Trust Act, 1999, Rehabilitation Council of India Act and the Mental Health Act. Today the working draft looks like they are only replacing the Disability Act, 1995, with the new Disabilities Act, 2011. We feel let down,” said T M N Deepak, activist and vice-president of Tamil Nadu Handicapped Federation Charitable Trust.The activists also accused that the disabled were underrepresented in the National Draft Committee. In the 27-member panel, only three with disabilities were present. The rest were representatives of NGOs. Poonam Natarajan, member of the National Draft Committee, said, “The mandate of the committee was to replace the Disability Act, 1995, with a new, all encompassing Act and bring in the necessary amendments in the other Acts that concerned with disabilities, in keeping with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. A debate is on as to whether to have one comprehensive law or bring in the necessary amendments in the existing ones. We have tried to keep the 2011 Act as close to the UNCRPD as possible.” The suggestions that were aired during the consultation included one on the definition of disability and another on improved accessibility. The consultation was attended by various NGOs who work on the disability issues and the parent forums of the disabled. However, the representatives of disability rights groups were visibly peeved. “What do they know about our problems? We are the ones who live with disability. What is the purpose of this consultation when we are not part of it?” they wondered. The consultation will continue on Thursday. http://expressbuzz.com/edition/print.aspx?artid=254883 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Mental Health Advocacy (News 'N Views) India" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/MhaNewsViewsIndia?hl=en ------------- Affiliated Groups : MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCACY INDIA [email protected] Discussions on mental health law / policy / plan monitoring / human rights etc [email protected] India-specific news and views related to mental health [email protected] Information and support to carers of people with mental health issues [email protected] Mutual support and sharing of experiential knowledge, skills and social learning amongst peers
