accessibility in india : issues status way forward

7/31/2019 Accessibility in India : Issues Status Way Forward

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Accessibility post the Persons

with Disability Act in India- Issues, Status & the Way Forward

Presented by:

Shivani Gupta

Director & Co-Founder,AccessAbility

[email protected]


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About AccessAbility

An organisation working towards inclusion of PwD through: Providing infrastructural accessibility Promoting job opportunities Sensitization and awareness Research

The services we provide for Infrastructural Accessibility include:

Access Audits & Appraisals; Access Consultancy - Implementation Strategies,

- Architectural support services; Research developing local technical standards; Subject training architects, designers, town planners; Information dissemination website, online discussion forum, etc.

Some of our recent clients: ITC Welcomgroup Hotels - Park Hotels Indian School of Business - Guwahati Master Plan 2025 Jamia Milia Islamia University - Delhi University VFS India Pvt. Ltd. - MSJE National Institute for the Visually Handicapped


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Content

Understanding Accessibility

The Law

The Persons with disabilitiesAct

Other Policies Accessibility Roadmap

Successes and Failures

The Gaps

Legal Loopholes

Accessibility Guidelines The Professionals

The Way Forward


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Understanding Accessibility


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What is Access ?

Physical Access

Access to Services

Access to Information

Building Management& Operations

Assistive Aids& Appliances

Inclusive Policies,Procedures

& Practices

Attitudes


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The Law


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Primary Legislation- The PwD Act (1995)

Chapter V Education Ensure under 18 year olds have access to free education in

Appropriate Environment

The removal of architectural barriers from schools, colleges orother institution, imparting vocational and professional training

Chapter VI Employment 3% reservation in every government & public sector establishment Health and safety measures and creation of a non-handicapping

environment in places where persons with disabilities areemployed.

Chapter VIII Non Discrimination Adapt rail compartments, vessels & aircrafts to permit easy access

Adapt toilets in rail compartments, vessels, aircrafts & waitingrooms for wheelchair users Auditory signals at red lights for VI Curb cuts & slopes in pavements for wheelchair users Engraving on surface of zebra crossing for VI Engraving on edges of railway platforms for VI Devising appropriate symbols of disability

Warning signals at appropriate places


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Other Policies

Sarva Sikhsha Abhiyan All the schools in the country will be made disabled friendly by

2020 and all educational institutions including hostels, libraries,laboratories and buildings will have barrier free access for thedisabled.

Also promises accessible study materials and transport facility.

National Policy for People with Disabilities (2006) It is supposed to clarify the framework under which the State

Governments and the private sector must operate to ensureimplementation of the Act.

One of the salient features of the policy is Barrier FreeEnvironment where it restates that to the maximum extentpossible, roads, highways, buildings/places/ transportation systems

for public use should be made barrier-free. The national policy is supposed to inform the disability plan to be

incorporated in the 11th Five-Year Plan, which will have a timeline,and funds for programmes can be allocated through the FinanceCommission.


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Building Bylaws These are State level governing requirements that any

architect/developer needs to mandatorily comply to get aCompletion Certificate

Only few states have adopted accessibility as requirement intheir local Bylaws.

But not linked to approval and monitoring mechanisms

The Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007) Nationwide circulation of Barrier Free Guidelines

Certifying public buildings for accessibility Public utilities such as buses, railways to be accessible Efforts to usher barrier free environment in the private sector. Module on barrier free environment to be introduced in

architectural and engineering colleges. The Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rojgar Yojana where there is a

3% resource allocation for the benefit of the disabled andproviding barrier-free environment for the disabled. Fund allocation for all these points has not been clarified

except for the Swaran Jayanti Yojana


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Accessibility Roadmap


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Some Successes & Failures

The one km radius model accessible project IPEstate Complete failure as no traces of accessibility can be

seen here

Compilation of the CPWD guidelines Guidelines not adequate and not reviewed for 10 years Only 11% of the sample group of architects were aware

of these guidelines

Ministry of Railways Begun Access Improvement at category A stations

Accessible Bus transport systems in Delhi Too many agencies involved to actually provide

accessibility


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Sarva Siksha Abiyan making school environment inclusive There exists an excellent action plan to achieve Inclusion by

2020, but looking at the implementation so far seemsambitious

UGC initiatives to improve accessibility in Universities What does accessibility mean in a University setuponly

ramps?? Need to have clear access specification that can be enforced

all over India not just in Delhi

Access Audit of several public buildings On ground implementation rate is poor

The Delhi Metro project One great example

Some Successes & Failures


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The Gaps


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Legal Loopholes - PwD Act1. Accessibility is not provided as a matter of right but as a add on based on the economic

capacity of the provider. (within the limits of their economic capacity &development)

2. It is discriminatory in itself as it applies only to the government & public sector. does not even apply to all public use buildings such as theatres, restaurants etc.

3. The terms Accessibility, non discrimination or even Public Building have not beendefined in the Act.

No designated accessibility standards, leaving all to have their own personalcriteria.

4. The specific guidance on accessibility in the non discrimination section narrows downthe focus to only certain aspects of physical accessibility.

5. Fails to consider access to services and information

6. Lack of any phases and timeframes & extremely poor recourse mechanism

7. No mechanism spelt out to guide authorities for implementation eg amendment of bye-laws, etc

8. There are no measurables to chart the progress or the direction being taken

9. It fails to give direction for polices and regulations that are drafted by other ministries.


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Accessibility Guidelines

Name of Guideline Developed by Published Revised

IS 4963: Recommendations for Buildings &

Facilities for the Physically Handicapped

Bureau of Indian

Standards (BIS)

1968 1992

National Building Code BIS 1970 2005

Guidelines and Space Standards for Barrier

Free Built EnvironmentCentral Public Works

Department (CPWD)1998 1998

Planning a Barrier Free Environment Office of ChiefCommissioner, PwD

2001 2001

Delhi Building Byelaws (proposed) Delhi MunicipalCorporation (MCD)

2005 ---------

None Identified as a Standard under the PwD Act No legalstanding.

Not based on local research on Indian Population Research done by us indicates:

Few parameters (e.g. 1500 mm turning radius, knee recess, etc) did notaccommodate even 50% of the sample group studied.

Only 11% architects aware of any access guidelines


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Some Outcome Majority of the secondary legislations/polices have not

incorporated accessibility or address the needs of disabledpeople

In a growing economy like ours there is tremendousinfrastructural development and a large amount of it is notincorporating accessibility into it.

Poor institutional coordination (eg ITO pilot, Railwaycoaches, DTC bus shelters, etc)

There are sporadic activities happening in patches in

different parts of the country A circular no. 10/Vee Yoo-17/2001-1600 dated 16.7.2002have been issued by Director Social Welfare to all theDistrictCollectors to see that all cinema halls in the State of Biharare made barrier free within a period of one month.

(Annual Report o/f CCPD 2004-05 )


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The Professionals

As a part of a study conducted by us on practicingarchitects, we found that: While a majority (85%) were aware of the PwD Act but only

11% were aware of any Accessibility Guidelines. While 63% were taught barrier free principles in their

college only half (57%) of them felt that accessibility was a

very important feature in a building and just a handful (29%)felt the importance of building management. 82% felt that we must develop Indian Standards

While there are a lot of people who are able to point outwhat needs to be done in terms of infrastructural

retrofitting (366Access Auditors trained by CCD alone+ many more by NGOs) no professional training available in the country to create

Access Consultants who can look beyond just physicalaccessibility.


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The Way Forward


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Recommendations

Punitive action forNon compliance

AccessibilityStandards created

& binding

Timeframes&

MonitoringProcedure Secondary

Legislations toAddress Inclusion

Inclusion critical toPublic spending

IncludeAccess to services& Communication

Define Accessibility,Non Discrimination

& Public Bldgs.

Be a matterof right

PWD Act 1995


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Other Recommendations

Designated fund allocation for access improvement.

National level committee to chart a course of action for improvingaccessibility based on the present status. Vision Monitoring Progress Charting POA

Responsible for incorporating UNCRPD provisions.

Increase professional capacity Institutes teaching architecture, engineering, town planning,

designing, etc. must look at Universal Design of infrastructure,products or communication as a core module.

Access auditing and access auditors to be standardised andcertified/accredited respectively.

Encourage academic research in issues pertaining to accessibility.


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Thank You

www.AccessAbility.co.in

accessibility in india : issues status way forward

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