Government releases revised universal accessibility guidelines

• Central Public Works Department (CPWD) released new Harmonised Guidelines and Standards for Universal Accessibility in India 2021.
• The new rules envisage changes from the design plan to the implementation.
• Also, various aspects of the built environment have been covered for universal accessibility.

Background:

• Earlier, in 2021 the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had issued draft guidelines for new accessibility standards.

Key highlights of the new guidelines:

• Revision of Harmonised Guidelines and Space Standards for Barrier-Free Built Environment for Persons with Disabilities and Elderly Persons, 2016.
• Focus on universal accessibility i.e. the degree to which environment, products, and services are accessible to people with disabilities.
• Barrier-free design - removing physical barriers from ""built environment"" for people with disabilities.
• Guidelines are not just for Persons with Disabilities (PwD), but for those involved in planning projects.
• It covers making public buildings and transport fully accessible for wheelchair users.
• It has also covered users including parent pushing a child’s pram while carrying groceries or other bags or women wearing saris, who are likely to experience temporary problems.
• It calls to incorporate accessibility symbols for PwD, family-friendly facilities and transgender, among the symbols for other user groups.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).

Safeguards & Acts for Disabled People:

• Article 14: The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India. It also includes PwD.
• UN Convention the Right of Persons with Disabilities: It recognizes accessibility as a human right and requires signatories to adopt appropriate measures to ensure access by persons with disabilities. India is a signatory.
• Accessible India Campaign: aka Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan. It focuses to enable Persons with disabilities to gain universal access, equal opportunity for development.
• Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016: Principal legislation concerning persons with disabilities.
• DeenDayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme: A Central Sector Scheme of Government of India which is being implemented since 1999 for providing financial assistance to NGOs working for education and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities.
• National Fellowship for Students with Disabilities: Financial assistance for pursuing higher and technical education for students with disabilities
• Unique Disability Identification Project : Launched in 2016, the chief objective of the project is to create a national database for Persons with Disability (PwD) and to issue a Disability Identity Card to such persons.
• International Day of Persons with Disabilities: Every year on 3rd December, International Day of Persons with Disabilities is observed.

Central Public Works Department (CPWD)

• It is the Central Government authority, charged with the public sector works.
• It works under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
• It deals with buildings, bridges, roads, flyovers, complicated structures such as stadiums, auditoriums, bunkers, laboratories, border roads, hills roads, border fencing, etc.
• Established in July 1854, when Lord Dalhousie established a central agency to execute public works and set up Ajmer Provincial Division.