It became one of the important guidelines on November 9, 2024 when the Supreme Court of India instructed the Union government to set up standards needed to fulfil the accessibility of architectures for persons with disability within three months. Leaded by the chief justice D Y Chandrachud this order helps to make public areas, workplaces and other facilities accessible to all hence, confirming accessibility as a basic human right.
Hearing that progress on the accessibility directives has been slow, the Supreme Court delivered this decision in answer to another judgment issued in 2017. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act was passed in 2016 with the intention to empower each and every persons with disabilities to live their lives with pride, equality and without discrimination. However, the rules provided under this Act in 2017 were determined to be self-regulatory rather than compulsory, and the performance also differed in different sectors.
The constitutional bench of three-judge consisted of the chief Justice S.K. Chandrachud, Justice J.B. Pardiwala & Justice Manoj Misra, they also highlighted the need and importance of ‘meaningful access’ of disabled persons at the public places. The court highlighted the need for a two-pronged approach: utilizing adaptive re-use strategies of upgrading existing structures to be made more accessible and having required future structures to incorporate design for accessibility without being prescribed specific techniques.
The court found that the RPwD rules did not establish enforceable, compulsory standards but rather relied on self-regulation through guidelines. This led to several problems because the standards were put into practice in a very random manner and the same accessibility requirements varied. The Supreme Court asked the Union government to evolve standard essential regulations, as provided under the RPwD Act, within three months.
Why It Matters
Setting of this order is one of the ways that provides for making public spaces more accessible to persons with disability. Accessibility standards mean that under the government’s administrations, transportation and information and communication services must be accessible to everyone. This will definitely help to remove barriers that have always hindered the people with disability from interacting fully with their societies.
This order also speaks about compliance and enforcement measures. This court suggested that the new rules should not be part of general rules but stand out alone having set down measurable standards that can be backed up legally. This will make accessibility not only a secondary level of good practice but also a primary level where non-compliance will attract penalties.
Impact on Society
It cannot be denied that mandatory accessibility standards will impose great society effects. It will foster independent living for people with disability and allow them to full participate in all facets of life. This encompasses; education, employment, health care, and social relations all of which are so crucial for a human beings to lead a dignified and fulfilling life.
Furthermore, the order will help people increase awareness of the situation and difficulties of the disabled persons. The initiated measures will promote consistent improvement of non-discrimination policies and facilitate the creation of relevant infrastructure and services in order to contribute to the formation of a society free from discrimination.
(RPwD Act, 2016)
The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act enacted in 2016 which goes a long way towards guaranteeing the equal, effective, and sustainable enjoyment of rights and opportunities for persons with disabilities in India. They are accompanied by the coherent legislation, matching the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities UNCRPD, to which India is the signatory, aimed to protect and promote RPwDs.
Main Sections of the Act
- Expanded Definition of Disability: The RPwD Act, 2016, which expands the definition of disability identified 21 different types of disability than the initial seven covered by the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. These are specific learning disabilities, autism, dwarfism, Muscular Dystrophy, victims of acid attack among others. It is a common practice of the inclusive model to avail these assistances to a wider range of disabled people.
- Rights and Entitlements: The Act gives the individuals with disabilities right to equality and right against discrimination, along with the right to access and participate in all aspects of community living. This speaks of such legal requirements as the disability act which calls on all the Governments and organizations to make the necessary and reasonable accommodations so that persons with disability should be able to have an equal chance in education institutions, workplace, public premises, transport services and other services.
- Education and Employment: The RPwD Act has to do with inclusive education and requires every Educational Institution Private and Public to set apart 5 percent of the seats for disabled persons. It also safeguards ensuring that schools, colleges, and other institutions that offer education provide basic amenities as well as products required for execution of inclusive education.
In matters concerning employment, the Act ensures that every company and organization provides at least four percent of its employees with disabilities and in addition ensures all organizations and the government establish equal opportunity policies. Employers are mandated to reasonably accommodate people with disabilities, alter facilities and practices with regard to the disabled and develop policies to recruit and retain employees with disabilities.
- Social Security and Healthcare: The Act envisages extensive social security measures; the disability pension, insurance and assistance to the disabled in distress situations are envisaged in the Act. It also aims at health care, providing that all healthcare facilities and services must be available and integrated.
- Accessibility: However, the RPwD Act focuses on accessibility as one of the major requirements for people with disability. According to the Act there is specification of the architecture of the public buildings, transportation systems, information and communication services to be provided according to the needs of the disable. This also means that the government has to follow rules that dictate what makes its websites and other digital content accessible.
- Legal Guardianship and Capacity: Part 5 of the Act concern legal capacity of persons with disabilities and supported decision-making. And it permits the authorities to grant limited powers of attorney where a person with a disability may need some help but their rights shall not be infringed.
Implementation and Challenges
Despite the enactment of the RPwD Act, 2016, it took progressive steps to ensure the economic and social rights and necessary inclusion of PwDs; however, its implementation has become difficult. It is now clear that with every party and stakeholder doing his part, the government authorities, civil society organizations and the private sector in general must pull resources together in order to the Act.
The main issue is that a large number of people including the end-users are not informed of the existence of such an Act and the provisions of the Act. This underscores the importance of civic and awareness raising programs for employers, educators, health care givers and policy makers to create disability friendly Employment and equal opportunity for persons with disabilities.
As well, it is significantly expensive and requires strategy for the purposes of making infrastructure and services readily available. Incorporating concepts of accessibility into existing stock of buildings, public domains, and transport systems, especially to meet set standards, presents a challenging process that requires endless political will and investment.
Difficulties Experienced by Persons with Disabilities
Disabled people encounter various barriers in their lives, socially and politically which denies them equal opportunities to engage in society. Hence these barriers cover the areas of physical, instruction, workforce, health, societal, and legal impaired access. It is necessary to know these challenges and take proper steps towards enabling the PwDs to be a part of the society.
Issues Experienced by Persons with Disabilities
- Accessibility: Cited below or among the difficulties that PwDs face is the issue of accessibility, in general, in public places, transport, structures, as well as online. Lack of proper access roads and transport impedes mobility of PwDs restricting their ability to access basic necessities in life like education, health care and employment.
- Education: Fully educating PwDs is a challenge since they experience many barriers on getting quality education. There are no well-equipped school and other education center to facilitate students with disabilities. This ranges from teacher’s training and teaching learning material to basic structures that make schools accessible, fewer enrolments, and high drop-out rates among PwDs.
- Employment: PwDs face major barriers when it comes to getting a job and when they are in jobs this makes them vulnerable to being fired. Discrimination in job placements for the disabled, inability to provide them with reasonable accommodations and often, lack of access to vocational training and skill development are some of the reasons why PwDs are most likely unemployed. Also, workplace environments are not conducive and often create a sense of isolation and exclusion to the PwDs ‘experience enhanced isolation.
- Healthcare: Another well-known problem faced by PwDs is the difficulty to obtain proper access to different types of care. A lot of different centres are not capable of providing targeted equipment and services for PwDs and therefore basic health care may be insufficient. This includes concerns on physical accessibility, due to the fact that, there is low health care provider awareness, and the unavailability of assistive devices and technologies.
- Social Inclusion: Discrimination and prejudice remain a big problem for PwDs even to this date. Prejudice and prejudice estimates about individuals with disabilities mean social marginalization and low involvement in community life. This is because it results to poor mental health and social well-being hence eradicating the ability of PwDs enjoying a good life.
- Legal Rights: While there some laws and policies governing the protection of the rights of PwDs, many of such laws are not well implemented or enforced. A lot of PwDs are ignorant of their legal rights and what they are entitled to, and there is usually a scarcity of service providers within the legal precincts.
Steps to Promoting the Status of Persons with Disabilities
- Improving Accessibility: Governments and organizations should take measures to ensure equal accessibility for everyone of public areas, transport, constructions, and informational technologies. Examples of its application are the following: the introduction of universal design, the adaptation of an existing architectural environment, and the execution of accessibility requirements. Other ways through which PwDs’ independence and mobility can also be improved include the supply of assistive technologies and devices.
- Inclusive Education: Schools should embrace the spirit of the disabled and bring on board changes that will enable learning to take place to all learners including the disabled learners. This includes the training of teachers to mainstream students with disabilities, producing and procuring instructional materials in the appropriate medium and ensuring schools accept all students. Governments should also put measures that could lead to integration of PwDs in school education.
- Employment Opportunities: To increase chance of employment of PwDs, for now, employers need to embrace Equal Employment Opportunities and facilitate productions of reasonable accommodation in workplaces. Sources of vocational training and the skill development programmes that address the needs of the PwDs will foster their employability. Finally, creating more awareness on the right that PwDs have to be hired by employers might go along way in eradicating discrimination with regard to PwDs and ensure diversity in workplaces.
- Accessible Healthcare: Healthcare facilities should be prepared to accommodate the needs of the PwDs. This includes wheelchairs, accessible scanners, training of health care workers on disability mainstreaming as well as provision of other assistance devices. Another area of policy that governments should also encourage is that which seeks to ensure that health care costs and accessibility are not a hindrance to PwDs.
- Promoting Social Inclusion: Anything as sensitive as social stigma and discrimination should be combatted jointly by the communities, the governments and organizations. Promotions that make people more informed, perceptions enhancement, as well as vital requirements in arranging sensitive groups’ value incorporation, are some helpful strategies in eliminating detrimental attitudes.
- Strengthening Legal Protections: Maintaining the laws and enforcement of the protective legislation and policies for the PwDs should be effectively provided. Governments should also support services that include legal services and lobbying for PwDs to get assistance. The supported human rights include the health care rights, legal rights and civil liberties in that, educating the PwDs on their rights and entitlement will enable them fight for their rights when infringed.