2. Introduction:-
As per the name indicates that disability act is for empowerment of person with disabilities and the word
act represented that it is all about some rules and regulations and guidelines and the disability is known as
PWD act (persons with disability), So disability act is all about providing equal opportunities and
security to person with disability.
Body of report:-
History-The disability act in India has enacted with many other legislations that are:-
Indian Lunacy act, (1912)
Mental health act, (1987)
Rehabilitation council of India Act (1992)
Person with disability act (1995)
National trust act (1999)
right to education act (2010)
The disability discrimination act 2014
In 1992, India adopted the Proclamation on the Full Participation and Equality of People with Disabilities
in the Asian and Pacific Region. As a signatory of this proclamation Ministry of Law,Justice and
Company Affairs first time in the history of independent India a separate law had been formulated which
talked about the multiple needs of disabled people, proposed an act to safe guard the rights of Persons
with Disabilities (PWD). On the 1st of January 1996 the Government of India passed the Persons with
Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995.
It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. At that time it includes only 7
types of the following disabilities are under this act:
Blindness
low vision
leprosy-cured
hearing impairment;
loco motor disability;
mental retardation;
mental illness;
The primary goal of the act is to integrate person with disabilities and provide them with opportunities for
full participation in society and have full rights in every level of society and employement. For this The
act calls for the forming of two central committees and two state committees: The central coordination
committee and the central executive committee; the state coordination committee and the state executive
committee. The act calls for the government to take the necessary steps to ensure the prevention of
disabilities.
According to Chapter IV of this act the Appropriate Governments and local authorities to take certain
steps for the prevention ofoccurrence ofdisabilities by creating surveys and researchesconcerning
3. the cause ofdisabilities and promote various methods ofpreventing disabilities Within the limits of
their economic capacity and development.
According to chapter V,children with disabilities should be provided free education by the appropriate
government. The government must take steps to integrate children with disabilities into regular schools,
but also make space for special schools that cater expressly to the needs of these children. In addition to
the basic education schools, government are also required to make non-formal education programmes for
children with disabilities that help attain literacy, rejoin school, impart vocational training, and provide
them with free books and educational material. Teachers need to be specially trained to educate and see to
the needs of children with disabilities. The government must also set up schemes that provide children
with disabilities grant and scholarships and also provide funds for making buildings disabled friendly.
Educational institutions are also required to provide visually challenged students with aids who will write
for them.
For Employment In Chapter VI , appropriate governments shall Identify the posts which can be
reserved for persons with disabilities and make reservation for the disabled persons and make
special employment exchange for them, for this government also announced incentives to employers
who ensure five percent work force is composed with person with disabilities.
Government also made rules to non-discrimination in transport and promoted research programs
to prevent disabilities.
The act calls for the appointment of a chief commissioner who will hear complaints or pleas made with
regard to the deprivation of rights of PWD
The act proclaimed in 1995 renewed in 2011, changed its name from Person with disabilities act to Rights
of Person with disabilities act.
Very soon, though, activists as well as disabled people felt that the law had too many loopholes and laws
must be modified to give effect to the obligations under the convention. However,this Act did help
disabled people to come together, forming groups as they started making demands to implement this law.
The government on 7,feb, 2014 introduced The right of persons with disabilities bill, 2014 in rajya sabha,
seeking to increase reservation for disabled persons in public sector jobs from the existing 3% to 5% and
reserve seats for them in higher education institutions.Following are the Highlights ofthe Bill:
The Bill replaces the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full
Participation) Act,1995. Instead of seven disabilities specified in the Act, the Bill covers 19
conditions.
Persons with at least 40% of a disability are entitled to certain benefits such as reservations in
education and employment, preference in government schemes,etc.
The Bill confers severalrights and entitlements to disabled persons. These include disabled
friendly access to all public buildings, hospitals, modes of transport, polling stations, etc.
In case of mentally ill persons, district courts may award two types of guardianship. A limited
guardian takes decisions jointly with the mentally ill person. A plenary guardian takes decisions
on behalf of the mentally ill person, without consulting him.
4. Violation of any provision of the Act is punishable with imprisonment up to six months, and/or
fine of Rs 10,000. Subsequent violations carry a higher penalty.
Impact:
Disability is an important public health problem especially in developing countries like India. The
problem will increase in future because of increase in trend of non-communicable diseases and change in
age structure with an increase in life expectancy. In India, a majority of the disabled resides in rural areas
where accessibility, availability, and utilization of rehabilitation services and its cost-effectiveness are the
major issues to be considered. Research on disability burden, appropriate intervention strategies and their
implementation to the present context in India is a big challenge.
the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) report[7] and Census data of 2001[8] stated that its
prevalence was as low as 2% in India. A recent community-based study in India found the prevalence of
all types of disability as 6.3% out of which mental disability was found to be the most common type of
disability (36.7%).
The major challenge includes understanding the concept of disability and acceptance of CBR as a valid
intervention. Hospital-based rehabilitation services will lead to mystification of knowledge with social
isolation and low efficiency of services which will benefit fewer disabled. Prioritization of resources like
finance, manpower, and materials will be another important issue to be considered. Poor planning and
management of CBR with lack of intersectoral coordination leads to poor functioning of the services to
disabled. Non-availability of evidence-based facts,lack of co-ordination between the Government and
NGOs, the absence of a coherent community level strategy, limited competence and capacity of
decentralizing services,limited models of good practices are the other lacunas in the system.
For an example, The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit report on social sector for
Government of Delhi reveals that the Government of Delhi has failed to conduct a door-to-door survey to
build a comprehensive database of Persons with Disabilities (PwD) residing in Delhi.
The national capital has not laid down a state specific disability policy to address the issues of PwD. Delhi
government had also failed to set up district level disability rehabilitation centres.
So, the implementation of disability act is almost failed in India due to reachability issue in rural areas
where health services are already poor and in general society does not accept the disabled persons to give
equal rights to them.
Recommendation:
It requires commitment across all sectors and built into new and existing legislation, standards,
policies, strategies, and plans.
Invest in specific programs and services for people with disabilities. In addition to mainstream
services, some people with disabilities may require access to specific measures,support services, or
training. In this process,involvement of persons with disability is of paramount importance as they
give insight into their problems and suggest possible solution.
Health care providers capacity can be improved through effective education, training, and recruitment.
A review of the knowledge and competencies of staff in relevant areas can provide a starting point for
developing appropriate measures to improve them. Manpower generation by promoting new courses
and initiating degree and diploma courses like Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation will address the
problem of shortage of manpower in long run.
5. Focus on educating disabled children as close to the main stream as possible.
Increase public awareness and understanding of disability. Governments, voluntary organizations, and
professional associations should consider running social marketing campaigns that change attitudes on
stigmatized issues such as HIV,mental illness, and leprosy. Involving the media is vital to the success
of these campaigns and to ensuring the dissemination of positive stories about persons with
disabilities and their families.
Generating representative community-based data will help to plan and execute appropriate measures
to address the problems of persons living with disability.
Strengthen and support research on disability.
A fraction of mentally ill citizens consult private practitioners, as they are expensive and small in
number. Hence,it is essential that the DMHP(District Mental Health Program) is extended and
implemented in all districts particularly because it is the duty of the government to provide affordable
and accessible healthcare to all, irrespective of the nature of the ailment(s) and the socio-economic
status or identity of a patient.
Conclusion:
The PWD Act must be implemented successfully, the government is proposing new laws under PWD Act
2014 but in India PWD Act 1995 is yet not implement successfully at each level. So, government should
also make some specific agencies to ensure that the all people get benefits of the Act. The Act must be
recast to comprehensively provide for all rights recognised under the Disability convention.
In India, people with disabilities are most often looked upon with sympathy and in some cases their
disability is treated as a curse. Indian participants won a remarkable 387 medals at the Special Olympic
Games for sports persons with intellectual disabilities held in Australia in December 2013. Small wonder
then that the achievements of people with disabilities in sports or any other field do not receive much
reportage in the news media.
