On 5th June, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (“MoSJ&E”) notified the amendment to the Right of Persons with Disabilities Rules 2017 (“RPwD Rules”) in the official gazette. This amendment substituted the 2016 Harmonised Guidelines and Space Standards for Barrier-Free Built Environment for Persons with Disability and Elderly Persons (“Harmonised Guidelines...
On 5th June, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (“MoSJ&E”) notified the amendment to the Right of Persons with Disabilities Rules 2017 (“RPwD Rules”) in the official gazette. This amendment substituted the 2016 Harmonised Guidelines and Space Standards for Barrier-Free Built Environment for Persons with Disability and Elderly Persons (“Harmonised Guidelines 2016”) with Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs latest revised Harmonised guideline called “Harmonised Guidelines and Standards for Universal Accessibility in India – 2021”. These guidelines are a comprehensive document dealing with a different facet of inaccessibility. These guidelines also widened the scope of accommodation by changing the mandate from “barrier-free” to “Universal design”. Thus, the guidelines expanded the infrastructure’s inclusiveness by providing accessibility to a broader population whose movements are hampered by any characteristics, not just persons with disabilities.
This is part of a series of amendments brought by the MoSJ&E to the RPwD Rules. For instance, at the time of writing the article following guidelines are open for public consultation: Accessibility Standards for Health Care, Accessibility standards and guidelines for the Culture sector (Ministry of Culture), and Accessibility standards for the sports sector (Department of Sports). Per the PIB report, more accessibility guidelines by different Ministries and Departments are at different stages. For instance, accessibility guidelines for Higher Education Institutions and universities, bus terminals and Bus stops, and by the Department of Water and Sanitation await notification in the Gazette of India. In contrast, Accessibility for the ICT products and services developed by the Ministry of Electronic and Information Technology is recently notified in RPwD rules.
Why so many amendments?
These standards of accessibility by Ministries/Departments must be notified under the RPwD Rules to make them enforceable under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (“RPwD Act”). Section 40 of the RPwD Act provides a mandate for accessibility where the Central government, in consultation with the Chief Commissioner, formulate rules for persons with disabilities for laying down the standard of accessibility for the physical environment, transportation, information, and communications, including appropriate technologies and systems, and other facilities and services provided to the public in urban and rural areas. Section 40 is a part of Chapter VIII in the RPwD Act, which deals with the duties and responsibilities of the appropriate government (central or state).
Section 100 of the RPwD Act provides rule-making power to the central government. In furtherance of this, it enacted the RPwD Rules 2017. Rule 15 is the corresponding provision for Section 40 of the RPwD Act, which enumerates standards of accessibility with which every establishment (both public and private) has to comply to ensure accessibility. Respective Ministries and Departments prepare these standards of accessibility. For instance, under Rule 15(1)(a), the Ministry of Urban Development (as it then was) notified the accessibility guidelines for public buildings in 2016. The amendment notified by MoSJE (mentioned above) amends Rule 15(1)(a) by substituting the Harmonised Guidelines 2016 with the latest Harmonized Guidelines 2021.
The abovementioned accessibility standards by different Ministries and Departments at different stages of formulation and notification will be added under Rule 15(1) vide amendment in RPwD Rules. Thus, a series of accessibility standards prepared by the concerned Ministry/Department will form part of Rule 15(1), providing an accessibility mandate for establishment.
How effective will it be?
Rule 15(2) of RPwD Rules provides that respective Ministries and Departments will ensure compliance with the standard of accessibility notified by them under Rule 15(1). However, there are overlapping in accessibility standards, and a lack of coordination among Ministries/Departments has resulted in a multiplicity of mandates and efforts. Thus, these mandates might create some degree of uncertainty for establishments.
For instance, accessibility guidelines released by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Sports deal with different elements of built-in environment like parking, ticket counters, toilets, corridors, etc. The Harmonised Guidelines 2021 also provides a detailed accessibility mandate for built-in environment based on the principle of Universal Design. It attempts to ensure maximum inclusion. However, there is an absence of cross-referencing of Harmonised Guidelines 2021 in another accessibility standard released by other Ministries/Departments. Similarly, multiple guidelines address the elements of digital accessibility. It is unclear which will be the nodal authority wherein there are complex products or services or where there is a divergence of accessibility mandate on a similar subject.
Long wait for accessibility
The RPwD Act already specified certain mandates to ensure accessibility and accommodation. Section 41 and 42 provided for accessible transport and access to information and communication technology, respectively. Similarly, Section 43 and 44 talked about accessibility of consumer goods and accessories for general use and new buildings for disabled people. The RPwD Act also prescribed timelines to ensure accessibility, like under Section 45 to ensure accessibility of existing infrastructure within 5 years of notification of concerned rules. However, a significant portion of existing public infrastructure is still not accessible. A similar mandate is prescribed for public and private service providers to provide accessible services within 2 years of notification of relevant rules under Section 40.
These standards of accessibility were a work in progress for a long time. After notification of 2017 Rules, these standards should have been prepared with urgency. However, it took almost 6 years for Ministries and Departments like sports, railways, health, home and others to formulate them. For instance, since 2021, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has been in the process of notifying the ‘Accessibility Standards for Television Programmes for Hearing lmpaired’ under RPwD Rules but still hasn’t been able to.
These standards of accessibility will provide a basic framework for public and private establishments to ensure the inclusion of persons with disabilities. They can no longer take the excuse of defense of lack of mandate or uncertainty. The notification of such a standard of accessibility is a significant shift in terms of disability advocacy. However, their compliance will be a test for all concerned nodal authorities under respective Ministries and Departments.
Views are personal.