Roadblocks affecting govt's reach to people with disabilities: Selja

NEW DELHI: Absence of full-time commissioners, ineffective functioning of State Coordination and Executive Committees are among the major hindrances in dealing with the various issues concerning people with disabilities, Union Minister Kumari Selja said today.

Addressing the 12th national meeting of the state commissioners for people with disabilities, Selja said inadequacy of human and material resources for the state commissioners is also a serious issue.

The proposed Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill will be a vast improvement on existing Persons with Disabilities Act, and give more respect to disabled people's dignity and protect their fundamental rights, she said.

"Special recruitment drive should be launched across states to fill up the backlog of vacancies in government posts and tangible steps need to be taken to improve the quality of education," Selja said.

She said the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the setting up of a dedicated Department of Disability Affairs in her Ministry showed the government's commitment towards persons with disabilities.

Disability rights discourse is now getting institutionalised in the larger legal and policy framework of India, the Social Justice and Empowerment Minister said.