Days after the Government notified the amended Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Rules, 2024, activists in the sector have sought its rollback, arguing that they could further marginalise those with genuine disabilities.
“These set of amendments, are regressive in nature and will only add to the already existing hurdles for genuine persons with disabilities to get certified, so essential for identification, accessing services and entitlements,” said the National Platform for Rights of Disabilities (NPRD) working for the empowerment of the sector.
Endorsed by over five dozen disability rights organisations and activists, the NPRD had on August 27 submitted a detailed response to the DEPwD, Union Ministry of Social Justice, expressing its concern at the amendment making a PwD to apply for certificates through the UDID portal mandatory.
Also, these are contrary to the “spirit of the United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016,” said Muralidharan V General Secretary, NPRD.
“The Khedkar case was a classic example of manipulation at various levels, responsibility for which has still not been fixed. The case is a reflection of the lack of accountability, honesty, transparency and due diligence at multiple levels, including at the highest, none of which these amendments seek to address,” he pointed out.
The extension of the time limit for issuance of a certificate from one month to three months is totally uncalled for. The new rule asking a person with disability to reapply if no action has been taken on his application for two long years is unacceptable. The disabled person should not be blamed and punished for the failure of the system, he further said.
“The proposed amendments are based on the wrongful understanding that persons with disabilities alone are to be blamed for manipulation of the process. The number of fake certificates being issued is a very small percentage of the total number of disability certificates being issued and similar flaws exist in almost all systems of documentation in India.
Thus, the response of making the process more stringent and difficult is totally flawed,” it said.
However, it is regrettable that none of the concerns expressed in response to the amendments by various disability rights organisations and activists were considered, said Muralidharan.
Dr. Satendra Singh, a disability rights activist and professor at the University College of Medical Sciences & GTB Hospital in Delhi, too voiced strong concerns about the implications of tightening rules for disability certificates.
He said such measures could hinder the progress of millions of PwDs seeking equal opportunities in education and employment. In this regard he cited his own example to highlight the long cumbersome process a disabled person has to face. “While Puja Khedkar received her certification in just one day, I faced a 15-month wait to convert his paper disability certificate to a UDID card,” he said.
“Despite regulations requiring timely issuance, the reality is often different, particularly for those with newer disabilities who encounter barriers like a shortage of pediatric neurologists and lengthy testing,” Dr Satender Singh added.
Khedkar who is now dismissed from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) was found guilty of cheating and wrongly availing Other Backward Classes (OBC) and disability quota benefits.
A draft of the amended Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Rules, 2024 was issued in July by the DePwD under the Social to seek views of stakeholders and the amended Rules were published on Tuesday.
