Ministry extends time to respond on draft policy on PwD after activists raise demand

The draft calls for expanding the disabilities prevention programme of the Health Ministry from “traditional causes” to other causes, including malnourishment and medical negligence

After several stakeholders demanded more time to respond, the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) has extended the time for the public to submit comments on the draft National Policy for persons with disabilities (PwD), which was published last month, by one week time, with officials saying it could be extended further.

On Tuesday, the DEPwD of the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment said in a tweet that the last date for sending in comments on the draft policy had been extended from July 9 to July 15 “in view of the representations received from various stakeholders/organisations”.

The draft calls for expanding the disabilities prevention programme of the Health Ministry from “traditional causes” to other causes, including malnourishment and medical negligence. The policy also advocates for making vehicles more accessible for PwD, saying that the “MoRTH [Ministry of Road Transport and Highways] will issue necessary guidelines for making modification in the personal vehicles being used by persons with disabilities as per requirement.”

According to activists who raised the demand and DEPwD officials, the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre is working on a sign language translation of the policy in video form. A DEPwD official said the video would be released by July-end. A.S. Narayanan, president of National Association for the Deaf, said he had written to DEPwD secretary Anjali Bhawra on June 20 asking for the policy to be translated into a sign language video. “We would like to bring to your attention that deaf people from organisations are struggling to fully read and understand it,” the letter stated.

A law student and deaf activist, Saudamini Pethe, was among those who raised concerns. “The new policy suggestions are a welcome gesture by the government. However, inclusion in the true sense will happen only when access to such official public documents is provided...Section 12 (f) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 mandates ensuring accessibility of all public documents,” she said.

Dr. Satendra Singh, a physician and disability rights activist, said the policy was disconnected from reality. “India is perhaps the only country in the world that used a magical number of 40% and above to certify a disability,” he said. Dr. Singh said this certification method had been criticised by the Delhi High Court and a United Nations committee, while reviewing India’s report in 2019 to fulfil the U.N. Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, also made observations on the multiple assessments for certification.

“They directed the Union of India to ensure doctors with disabilities are involved in the reform of the guidelines for assessing and certifying disability... Little has been done to rectify this anomaly in rules or now in the draft national policy,” Dr. Singh said.