With disability bill stuck in PMO, hope fades for its passage in House

It is one bill on which an all party consensus would be available. It pertains to the rights of millions of disabled, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Bill. Yet, the government has failed to put the bill before the Rajya Sabha.

The bill is currently stuck in the prime minister's office (PMO), after the ministry of social justice and empowerment sent it to the cabinet secretariat on November 26.The cabinet meets every week, so two meetings have gone by without the bill being put up for clearance.

“If the ministry sent the cabinet note on November 26, why has it taken so long? Now, it has been 20 days. We hoped the government would take up the bill as very high priority and fast track it, especially considering the fact that this month we celebrated the World Disability Day and the 20th anniversary of the outdated Disability Act 1995,“ said Javed Abidi of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP).

The bill, which is supposed to replace the 1995 Act, was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in February 2014 but had to be sent to the parliamentary standing committee after several disabilities groups expressed concerns about various provisions. Activists said after the fanfare with which the Accessible India Campaign or Sugamya Bharat was announced by the PM, this was a disappointment.

The new law will expand the definition of disability including 19 conditions compared to just seven disabilities in the 1995 Act. It is drafted as a law that will prohibit any kind of discrimination against the disabled, and cover even the private sector.