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Policy and Law > Research Study > The Shadow Report

Disabled people in India : The other side of the story

The report highlights the failure of the government to implement the Disability Act, 1995. It reflects the loopholes in planning, monitoring and implementation mechanisms, education, employment, legislation, access to transport and built environment as well as communication barriers faced by disabled people.

The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 (addressed as The Disability Act, 1995 in this text) was passed by the Indian Parliament in December 1995. It was notified on 7 th February 1996. The Act outlines the rights to be provided to the citizens, the Schemes to be notified for its implementation and the monitoring mechanisms for the same. It provides for 3 per cent reservation in educational institutions and in Government posts for disabled people. It also provides for barrier free built environment and transport; social security; preferential allotments of land at concessional rates; financial assistance to universities and other institutions of learning that take up research in special education, rehabilitation and manpower development.

The Annual Reports of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and Office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities highlight their achievements during the year and the initiatives taken by them to safeguard the interests of disabled people. The reports do not however portray the entire picture. They are often lacking in basic disability statistics, details of beneficiaries of various schemes and the reach of the schemes. Moreover, the reports often do not mention the vision, the yearly targets, an analysis of failure in achieving the goals or of utilisation of budgets.

Year after year, while one reads the Annual Reports of various concerned Ministries, one gets a picture of the progress. However, the daily newspaper reports and day-to-day experiences of disabled persons and their families, who are denied even the basic rights, seemed to tell a different tale. Thus, a need was felt to compile the newspaper reports and review the various Government reports to see the reality.

Therefore, the aim of the Shadow Report was to highlight the other side of the story, the side not often documented, reported or published by the Government. The report focused on The Disability Act, 1995 and its implementation. The main sources of information included newspaper reports during the year, annual reports of various Central Ministries, newsletters and official websites of Ministries, Commissions and other Governmental, non-governmental and international agencies. It was limited to the core areas of education, employment, access, communication and legislation & policy vis-à-vis disabled people.

The Annual Report of the Office of Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities was crucial for the Shadow Report. However, the Annual Report (2003-2004) was not available till the end of this project, i.e., November, 2004. The Annual Report (2003-2004) of the National Human Rights Commission was also not available.

The judiciary and the media played a supportive role towards the concerns of disabled people during the year. Many newspaper reports highlighted instances of discrimination faced by disabled persons, which were sited in the Shadow Report. Some crucial concerns that emerged from the report are given below:

Planning, implementation and monitoring mechanisms

• One of the most important feature of the Tenth Five Year Plan was that it advocated the introduction of a ‘Composite Plan for the Disabled ' in the budget of all the concerned Ministries/Departments for this purpose. If Ministries like those for education, railways, roadways, rural development, urban development, labour, communication and information technology, civil aviation, tourism, information & broadcasting, and various Commissions for child rights/women's rights /human rights/minorities, etc, allocated a percentage of their annual budget to the implementation of the concerned provisions of The Disability Act, 1995, or initiated of new schemes/facilities for disabled citizens, the face of the country would change. However, none of the Annual Reports of various Central Ministries mentioned about the Composite Plan, as envisaged by the Tenth Plan.
• Though the plans/policies/schemes are meant to reach all categories of disabled people, especially those who are most in need, special focus is needed to include girls/women with disabilities, persons in rural/tribal/slum areas or in economically backward regions and families living in regions affected by terrorism or by natural calamities. Persons belonging to categories of neglected disabilities , who remain unseen and unheard, living in severely handicapping conditions, need special attention from the Government. These include people with disabilities like muscular dystrophy, thalassaemia, hemophilia, autism, deaf-blindness, learning disabilities, intellectual impairment, etc. A large population in the country is affected by mental disorders but the services for them are negligible. In addition, women with disabilities continue to have minimum access to medical facilities & legal aid, and to educational & livelihood opportunities.
• The bloodshed in Jammu and Kashmir has left many traumatised. Every year thousands of people, including youth, children and women suffer from psychological wounds. Moreover, landmines continue to disable people in the region. Yet, the no services available for them. Talking of creation of impairment, millions of people in the country are affected by bone deformities due to excessive consumption of fluoride-laden water, causing Skeletal Flourosis.
• The Scheme of Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase/ Fitting of Aids and Appliances (A.D.I.P.) provides grant-in-aid to voluntary organisations, Red Cross Societies, National Institutes and to ALIMCO for the purchase, fabrication and distribution of aids and appliances, usually through camps. In 2003-2004, Rupees 55 crores was released under the scheme to various organisations (Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, 2004). The list of organisations receiving grants under the scheme for 2003-2004 showed that while large sums of money went to the institutes directly under the Ministry, not a single organisation in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Assam, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Jammu & Kashmir, Lakshadweep, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Pondicherry or Sikkim got the grant! In States as large as Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Tripura and Uttaranchal (N.I.V.H.) only one organisation each received the aid, in Rajasthan only two (though a large sum) and in Kerala and Madhya Pradesh only three organisations each got the aid!
• The Ministry supports voluntary organisations that provide services to disabled persons under the Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme. During 2003-2004, 654 organisations were assisted with Rupees 71.06 crores to benefit more than 2.17 lakh persons. As per the list of organisations getting support from the Ministry, not a single organisation in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep , Nagaland or Sikkim got any support from the Central Ministry. Out of the 654 organisations getting funds, Arunachal Pradesh and Pondicherry got support for one, Mizoram and Tripura got for two each, Jammu & Kashmir and Jharkhand for three each, Chhatisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya got funds for four organisations each, Uttaranchal for six, and Assam and Manipur got for only seven organisations each! The funds clearly get concentrated into a few States while NGOs in a few go unsupported.
• According to the Office of Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, there were 11 full time State Commissioners for Persons with Disabilities and 24 Commissioners on additional charge basis, as in October, 2004. To ensure faithful implementation of The Disability Act, 1995, it is crucial that the State Commissioners for Persons with Disabilities be able to give full time inputs to the office and have knowledge and experience in the field of disability.
• Minutes of the meetings of the Central Executive Committee (C.E.C.) revealed that the Committee had met only twice in the year: May 8, 2003 and September 17, 2003. While the role of the CEC was to implement the decisions taken by the Central Coordination Committee (CCC), the minutes of the meetings of the CCC or the decisions taken by it were not shared at the CEC meetings!
• The National Human Rights Commission (N.H.R.C.) was constituted in India in 1993. As the annual reports of 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 were not available at the Commission, the progress made in the area of disability could not be ascertained at the time of writing the parallel report. However, the monthly newsletter of NHRC showed its negligible involvement in safeguarding the human rights of disabled people, as compared to other vulnerable groups in the country.

Education of disabled children and youth

• The Annual Report of Ministry of Human Resource Development (2003-2004) did not mention disabled children under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (S.S.A.)The report only mentioned that the District Primary Education Programme (D.P.E.P.), a component of SSA targeting primary schools in 129 Districts of nine States incorporated integrated education of disabled children. The report did not give details on the number of disabled children enrolled or the impact so far. The absence of disability related data of these crucial programmes is a matter of huge concern.
• Under the Integrated Education for Disabled Children (I.E.D.C.) Scheme, financial assistance is provided to State Governments and NGOs towards facilities extended to disabled students like books, stationery, uniform, transport allowance, and other facilities. The Scheme was being implemented in 27 States and 4 Union Territories through over 50,000 schools and benefited more than 1,69,000 disabled children by the end of 2002-2003. The data for 2003-2004 was not given in the Report.
• The University Grants Commission initiated two schemes in 1998: one for the preparation of teachers for special education at the B.Ed. and M.Ed. levels, namely, Teachers Preparation in Special Education (T.E.P.S.E.) and the other for the provision of facilities for promoting higher education for disabled students, namely, Higher Education for Persons with Special Needs (H.E.P.S.N.). Since the inception of the schemes till 2002, the U.G.C. identified and approved only 10 colleges and universities under T.E.P.S.E. and 19 colleges and universities under H.E.P.S.N. scheme for financial support during the Ninth Five Year Plan. During 2001-02, Rupees 94.83 lakh was paid to 28 institutions under the schemes. However, during 2002-03, only Rupees 6.06 lakh was paid to the institutions. Since 2002, no new college or university has reportedly been identified for the further implementation of the schemes. Therefore, out of nearly 300 universities in the country, not even 30 colleges/universities seem to have benefits for disabled students. Similar schemes/initiatives are needed for inclusion of disabled youth in institutions providing technical education.
• There seems to be a lack of clear vision at the policy level to meet the educational needs of children with different impairments. Children with severe disabilities, girls, those coming from financially backward families or living in remote areas have till today no access to any form of education. Children with speech/hearing impairment face a major setback due to verbal methods of teaching and lack of knowledge in sign language.

Employment of disabled people

• The Disability Act, 1995, provides for 3% reservation in jobs of Government establishments and Public Sector Undertakings in identified posts. However, the available annual reports of Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment or the Ministry of Labour provide no information on the status of its implementation in the past four years in terms of the percentage of disabled persons employed in Government services.
• As per the annual report of Ministry of Labour (2003-2004), the number of disabled job-seekers placed in employment during 2001 was about 3,500. The Ministry did not give the job seekers and placement data for the years 2002 or 2003. It is clear that there is a consistent increase in the number of disabled job-seekers. While lakhs of disabled people remain on the live registers of these exchanges, the Government manages to place only about 4,000 disabled people every year into jobs through its Employment Exchanges. Apart from these, there are thousands others, who are either under-employed, do not have information about these employment exchanges, or find them unapproachable in terms of access, language, attitudes, etc. Many others are registered with private placement agencies.
• While most of the annual reports of various Government Ministries provided detailed data on the recruitment of persons under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories, none gave information on the number of disabled persons employed in the respective Ministries. Many annual reports contained information on the welfare schemes for employees belonging to the S.C./S.T. category but none for disabled employees.
• In the entire country, there are only 17 Vocational Rehabilitation Centres (V.R.C.) run by the Government for disabled people. While 30,390 clients were admitted during 2003, the number of clients rehabilitated was only 9,292. People with disabilities continue to be trained in masala making, cane-weaving, candle making, block printing and the manufacture of stationary items, whether in Government or in non-governmental organisations. Year after year they are trained in skills that do not help them to earn a decent living. The training does not match the skill / qualification requirement in the job market. Even for self-employment, other relevant skills like purchase of raw material, marketing, functional literacy & numeracy, banking, etc. are neglected.
• With the aim of helping entrepreneurs with impairments through financial assistance, the Government incorporated the National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation (N.H.F.D.C.) in 1997. The corporation provides loans to disabled people at low rates of interest. A study conducted by N.C.P.E.D.P. in 2003 revealed that the schemes of N.H.F.D.C. had not reached disabled persons through its State Channelising Agencies (SCAs) in 13 out of 35 States / Union Territories . Delhi , being the capital city of the country, had not seen the SCA disbursing loan to any disabled person till November, 2003, when the study was conducted. From its inception, till 31 st March 2003, N.H.F.D.C. had received a total of only 13,087 applications from its State Channelising Agencies across the country. Jammu & Kashmir had only two beneficiaries; Uttar Pradesh had six, while Punjab had 16 beneficiaries till August, 2003. Non-governmental organisations implement the Micro-Finance Scheme of N.H.F.D.C. In the entire country, only 132 NGOs had applied for the scheme. And out of these only 69 had received the loan. In fact, 16 States / UTs did not have a single N.G.O networking with N.H.F.D.C. The States / UTs that had neither an NGO nor an SCA implementing the N.H.F.D.C. Schemes were Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Mizoram , Sikkim and Uttaranchal. A facility, a scheme, a Corporation, meant to be functioning at a national level had not reached so many States / UTs even after more than five years of functioning.
• The annual report of Ministry of Rural Development (2003-2004) reported that all the District Rural Development Agencies were given guidelines for 3% reservation in all poverty alleviation schemes for the benefit of persons with disabilities. The report provided detailed data on the implementation of the provision. Under the Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), the total number of Swarozgaris assisted was 709,149, out of which 5,694 or only 0.80% consisted of disabled persons in 2003-2004. The Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY), providing dwelling units to people below poverty line also has 3% reservation for disabled people. While the total number of dwelling units provided in the financial year were 979,079, only 8,233 disabled persons benefited for it, forming only 0.84% of the beneficiaries. Even though the figures may vary depending on the months covered in the report, the percentage of disabled beneficiaries always remained less than 1% of the total in the different poverty alleviation schemes.
• The Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation did not report on the status of disabled beneficiaries under the Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (S.J.S.R.Y.).
• The Disability Action Division of the Council for Advancement of People's Action and Rural Technology (CAPART), set up in 1995, supports community based rehabilitation (C.B.R.) programmes for disabled people. In the past eight to nine years, the Division has sanctioned only 141 projects in the entire country. In 2003-2004, only 29 projects were sanctioned for support and Rupees 34 lakh were released for the same. While the total approved outlay for CAPART for 2003-2004 was Rupees 50 crores, the amount released for C.B.R. projects since its inception in 1995 was only Rupees 5.52 crores.

Access to transport and built environment

• Public transport is completely inadequate for people with disabilities. This year Delhi got its first disabled-friendly Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus on the eve of the sixth International Abilympics. The bus was modified keeping in mind the requirements of participants with diverse disabilities from 30 countries. According to one report, the modifications in the vehicle were completed within a fortnight. And yet, buses in the capital city remain inaccessible for disabled people till date.
• Clause 45 of The Disability Act, 1995 gives details of the provisions on public roads to make them accessible. The annual report of Department of Road Transport and Highways (2003-2004) had no mention of any initiative/ directive/ notification in this regard.
• The Indian Railways Annual Report & Accounts (2002-2003) also provided highlights of the performance for 2003-2004. It mentioned that special designed coaches in consultation with Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) were under manufacture. However, no section of the report gave any detail on the same. While crores of rupees continue to be spent on the manufacture of new coaches and providing better passenger amenities, systematic initiative to include access features are not included for the estimated 60 million disabled citizens of the country, their families, the aged and ill people.
• On the other hand, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) did pioneering work in making transport accessible. One route was opened for public and any disabled person could for the first time be a part of the public transport system with complete dignity and safety.
• The annual report of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (2003-2004) did not have information on the facilities extended to disabled citizens. However, provisions for senior citizens and those belonging to the Scheduled Castes / Scheduled Tribes were provided in detail.
• According to a section in the annual report of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the Office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities conducted access audits of four Government Buildings in Delhi during the whole year, including a railway ticked reservation centre, a coffee home, an electricity board office and the Delhi Airport ! As per the annual report of Ministry of Urban Development & Poverty Alleviation (2003-2004), the Government has issued Notifications amending the unified building by-laws to meet social environmental requirements such as providing barrier free environment in buildings for people with disabilities. Despite the provisions in The Disability Act, 1995, and the notification, constructions full of barriers continue all over the country.
• In a recent initiative of the Ministry of Tourism & Culture, revised guidelines were issued to simplify the procedure for classification of hotels and approval of hotel projects. The guidelines included that ‘new projects will be required to adopt environment-friendly practices and facilities for physically challenged persons. And existing hotels being classified will need to conform to a phased plan for adding eco-friendly practices and facilities for physically challenged persons'.

Communication barriers

• The flow of information from disabled people to policy makers, media professionals and doctors is limited. Similarly, disabled people face a whole range of barriers in accessing general information or that related to their disability. Publicity of disability related information in accessible formats was not given any priority. As per the annual report of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (2003-2004), crores of Rupees was spent on awareness campaigns of the Government, but there seems to be no focus of disseminating information for disabled persons. There is general mention of ‘awareness regarding schemes of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment'. During the year multi-media campaigns were launched to highlight rural development schemes, income-tax returns, AIDS control, consumer rights, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, etc. A total of 20,485 advertisements were released to various newspapers to highlight various schemes and campaigns. These included birth anniversaries of various leaders, India Shining, Promise of a New India, Upbeat Mood of Indian Economy, World Thrift Day and so on. The only advertisement for persons with disabilities was on their National Scholarship. Advertisements on Pulse-Polio Day were also published. The Audio Visual Cell too undertook awareness campaigns on All India Radio, Doordarshan and Satellite television, and the Outdoor Publicity wing put up 93,574 displays during the year, but none related to rights and facilities of disabled persons.

Legislation and Policy vis-à-vis disability

• Another year passed and the Amendments to The Disability Act, 1995, did not see the light of day. The disability sector is seeking the expansion of the definition of disability . Many disabled people do not come under the purview of The Disability Act, 1995 at present, due to which their voices remain completely unheard and they have nowhere to go for justice against discrimination. Some of them do get included for provisions but it is merely by default, for example, persons with autism, learning disabilities, thalassemia, hemophilia, etc. Related to this is the issue of disability certificates that remains complex, inaccessible, inadequate and dehumanising for most disabled people. There is an urgent need to authorise and ensure that Government hospitals across the country have medical boards to issue disability certificates to people with different impairments. The procedures need to be simplified and made more flexible, with special attention to those with severe and multiple impairments. The Government needs to provide a directive for a timeframe within which the Certificates are to be issued. And finally, uniform Disability Identity Cards that can be used for all purposes, to get benefits under any scheme needs to be introduced in a phased manner.
• As per the Annual Report 2003-2004 of Ministry of Urban Development & Poverty Alleviation, ‘the Government has approved a policy for preferential allotment of houses / land by Delhi Development Authority to persons with disability under which such persons have been accorded benefits in terms of reservation, preference for locality and allotment of ground floor and lower initial payment in the hire purchase scheme.' However, data regarding beneficiaries of these provisions was not provided. Moreover, it appears that Schemes to implement this provision of The Disability Act, 1995, have not been initiated in most States and Union Territories .

There is an urgent need for policy initiatives in the above-mentioned areas and strengthening of the planning, implementation and monitoring mechanisms for the same.

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