Does the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 ensure effective mechanism for empowerment and inclusion of the intended beneficiaries in the society? Discuss.

The Parliament of India had repealed the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995, and introduced the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. The Preamble of the newly introduced law represents the inherent dignity, individual liberty, and independence of disabled persons. It is expected to give full effect to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Features

• The disability has been defined as a dynamic concept.
• The types of disabilities have been increased. Previously it was 7 and now it will cover a total of 21 types of disabilities that includes blindness, mental illness, locomotor disability, hearing impairment, dwarfism, intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, and acid attack victims. The Central Government has been assigned the authority to include more types of disabilities.
• Reservation in higher education, government jobs, allocation of land, poverty alleviation schemes, etc has been provided for persons with benchmark disabilities.
• Children in the age group of 6 to 18 years with benchmark disability will have the right to free education.

Steps

The educational institutions funded by the government and government recognized institutions were ordered to provide education to children with disabilities. The grant of guardianship will be provided as per the act by District Courts. State governments were asked to constitute district-level committees to address local concerns of PwDs.

Benefits

• Other than the academic examination, more students with disabilities are going to opt for professional courses.
• It will enable ample opportunity for PwDs in the private sector.
• The creation of special courts for speedy trials to address the offenses committed against disabled persons will ensure justice.

Comment

The 2016 Act will definitely intend to introduce a set of changes to deliver the basic rights to the person with disabilities. Joint cooperation of state and central government and continuous monitoring and making it compatible by introducing necessary changes from time to time will further strengthen the position of the disabled person in the society.