Members of various organisations working for persons with disabilities met Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities(DEPwD) secretary Anjali Bhawra and asked for more time to respond to the draft national policy for persons with disabilities (PWDs). They also sought to provide the policy in regional languages and sign language.
The draft policy was released on June 6 seeking suggestions from the public within a month. The deadline was later extended to July 15 based on requests from various organisations.
Meenakshi Balasubramanian, a member of the Disability Rights Alliance (DRA), said a survey they conducted among 18,000 PWDs, showed nearly 50% of them were unaware of the policy and more than 90% wanted to provide input.
“Since PwDs have limited education and access to services, providing the draft in regional language is essential. Several participants mentioned this, as well as the need for consultation meetings,” she added.
DRA members said Anjali Bhawra told them the department is considering providing the draft in sign language but not in regional languages. If the draft is not published in regional languages, it is not ready for public consultation as it excludes most of the 2.2% of India’s population who are disabled, they added.