Implement Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act

At least, post August 5, 2019 following the then state of Jammu and Kashmir being made a Union Territory, the Rights of Persons with Disability Act passed in 2016 by the Parliament should have been caused to be implemented without any difficulty but in fact, has been subjected to trails of administrative indifference, lack of interest and absence of the will to have it made fully operative and effective. The result is, coming to the point straight, that nearly seven lakh people of the UT are not in a position to derive the benefits which the provisions of the Act provide to them. Not only the Government but the society on the whole must fulfil the requisite need to bestow on the concerned persons preferred attention and ensuring that they enjoyed the right to equality, life with dignity and respect and ensuring creating and providing an environment for them which was appropriate and conducive.
If simple mathematics was roped in to calculate the gains which all these four years the persons of this section of our society were denied due to the absence of the Draft Rules not implemented after being duly notified, it would really reveal its size and quantum. Putting the bill in public domain two years after its passing by the Parliament and afterwards not proceeding further denoted only the levels of the lackadaisical approach of the authorities in the Government. The thumb rule should be less of or with requisite speed fulfilling of the legal, statutory and administrative requirements and more engrossment in seeing how the targeted sections stood benefitted but never ever should there be an attempt to cause delays in implementation of the rules of an Act, Policy or a scheme. How many are the persons falling under the concerned category, Government figures of just four lakh are quoted purely based on the number drawing pension under the scheme, otherwise, an estimate puts the actual number nearly twice as much.
The basis of the Act being that the Governments were to take necessary steps to ensure reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities envisaged creating of an environment where they were not given a feeling that due to their physical constraints, they had to face any sort of neglect or discrimination of any sort. However, looking to all these four years of the Act , its provisions and the Draft Rules having not travelled beyond files and papers is uncalled for. We are given to understand that the Draft Rules have again been put in public domain and by now, the same should have been started to be implemented which we hope the Government would do in the very near future without any ado.
We, at the same time, draw the attention of the Government towards the women and the children in particular who should never be left high and dry without getting any benefits under the Act under the pretext of ongoing process of completing of formalities. We are conscious of the Indian traditions whereby people with disabilities are not subjected to any sort of disrespect or allowing them to rue their disabilities, instead are treated with due consideration and provided help wherever necessary but with the implementation of the Act, any type of abuse, discrimination, violence, denial of residential or other associated facilities, any sort of exploitation or deceit are all illegal acts punishable under the law. That there was no denial, on account of physical constraints, of right to education, skill development and employment, health rehabilitation and recreation and similar rights and facilities are well provided for in the provisions of the Act and with fuller implementation of the same, there would be compatibility with other states and the UTs too in respect of taking benefits guaranteed under the Act by the disabled people.

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