Forum wants Disability Bill tabled in February session : Lucknow ( UP )

Different organisations working for welfare and rights of people with disability (PWD) in the state have alleged apathy on the part of Union government towards their plight.

Under the aegis of UP Viklang Manch, the organisations stress tabling of Rights to People With Disability Bill in Parliament in its next session in February. To garner support for their cause, the forum will meet leaders of different political parties, including Arvind Kejriwal, the newly appointed chief minister of Delhi.

Addressing reporters in this regard on Monday, Amitabh Mehrotra, founder of SPARC India which is a part of the Disabled Rights pressure Group, said "we will approach all major political parties for support as disability is a non-partisan and non-political issue." He added that the UP Viklang Manch would also be holding a candlelight vigil to gather public support for their cause.

Expressing dismay over the delay in introducing the Bill, they said with India ratifying the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007, it was expected that all four disability specific legislations, including Mental Health Act 1987, Rehabilitation Council of India Act 1992, Persons with Disability (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995 and the National Trust Act 1999 would be harmonised.

While Mental Health Care Bill has been introduced in Parliament, the Bill replacing the 1995 Disability Act is yet to be introduced. The Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment had given an assurance that the Bill would be introduced in the winter session, after the Union Cabinet gave its approval to the Draft Bill on December 12, bit because of the abrupt end of the winter session on December 18, the Bill was not tabled.

Secretary of the UP Viklang Manch, Sooraj Kumar Yadav said the Bill promises rightful existence to more than 7 crore people with disability living across India. "It is a document to make us entitled rather than passive recipients," he said, adding that besides giving an expansive and comprehensive definition of disability, the Bill provides for an increase in the quota for persons with disabilities from three to five percent in government jobs.

Members of the pressure group feared falling back to square one in case the Bill was not tabled in parliament in February. "If the Bill is not cleared, all efforts made in the last four years will go waste and we will be forced to start all over again once the new government is formed," said Radhey Shyam Tripathi, a scholar from Jawaharlal Nehru University.


Source : TOI , 31st Dec 2013