‘Roll back new rules on availing disability certificates’: Rights body

The RPwD Rules, 2024, person travel successful the aftermath of the IAS probationer Puja Khedkar controversy. The NPRD said that broadly, the caller norms enactment an further load of impervious connected persons with disablement alternatively than fixing accountability wrong the system.

Khedekar was dismissed from work earlier successful September owed to alleged forgery successful her disablement and caste certificates.

Broadly, the caller norms person brought changes successful the process of applications made to get Unique Disability Identity (UDID) cards and the process of issuance of these cards.

One cardinal alteration among them is that lone a aesculapian authorization oregon immoderate different notified competent aesculapian authorization tin contented disablement certificates astatine the territory level. However, NPRD had pointed during the consultation signifier that this summation should beryllium dropped and suggested that experts associated with non-profits should besides beryllium authorised to transportation retired checks.

The caller norms besides introduced colour-coded white, yellowish and bluish UDID cards signifying ascending levels of disability, with bluish being the highest, for persons having disablement astatine 80 per cent and above.

“The NPRD lodges its beardown protestation against the amendments made to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules, making the process of issuance of disablement certificates much stringent and cumbersome. These acceptable of amendments are regressive successful quality and volition lone adhd to the already existing hurdles for genuine persons with disabilities to get certified, truthful indispensable for identification, accessing services and entitlements.

NPRD added that the caller Rules volition successful nary mode beryllium capable to code the systemic problems exposed successful the aftermath of the Puja Khedkar case.

“The Khedkar lawsuit was a classical illustration of manipulation astatine assorted levels, work for which has inactive not been fixed. The lawsuit is simply a reflection of the deficiency of accountability, honesty, transparency and owed diligence astatine aggregate levels, including astatine the highest, nary of which these amendments question to address.

Muralidharan, wide secretary, NPRD, told The Indian Express that the organisation with lakhs of persons with disabilities arsenic its members, volition nonstop a practice to the ministry against the caller norms.

Pointing retired immoderate of the circumstantial issues, helium said the caller norms marque it mandatory to use for the disablement certificate online. “However, determination are respective radical from the assemblage who either bash not person entree to the internet, smartphones oregon are digitally illiterate. During online applications, radical are asked to authorities their circumstantial disability. In galore cases, radical are not alert of the method nomenclature utilized for their circumstantial disability,” helium explained portion urging the authorities to clasp the enactment of applying successful person.

“We made respective suggestions and expressed galore concerns successful our practice sent connected August 27. However, they person not been taken into consideration,” Muralidharan added.

NPRD’s connection further stated that the hold of the clip bounds for issuance of a certificate from 1 period to 3 months is wholly uncalled for.

“The caller regularisation asking a idiosyncratic with disablement to reapply if nary enactment has been taken connected his exertion for 2 agelong years is unacceptable. The disabled idiosyncratic should not beryllium blamed and punished for the nonaccomplishment of the system,” it mentioned.

Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary, DePwD said that the government’s effort is to beryllium much affable and streamline the process of obtaining disablement certificates. “I recognize determination are immoderate misconceptions but we person tried to simplify the process. We analysed information connected the clip taken to contented certificates and it was seen that it usually takes 3 months. Hence, we person said that the certificates should beryllium issued successful 3 months,” helium told The Indian Express.

When asked if the norms person been tightened successful the aftermath of the Puja Khedkar controversy, Aggarwal said that the contented was nether deliberation earlier the contention broke and sought to downplay linking of the amendments to the Khedkar issue.