DISABILITY

" The Persons with Disabilities ( Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation ) Act, 1995 has come into enforcement on February 7, 1996 .This law is an important landmark and is a significant step in the direction to ensure equal opportunities for people with disabilities and their full participation in nation building.  The Act provides for both preventive and promotional aspects of rehabilitation like education, employment, vocational training, reservation, research and manpower development, creation of barrier-free environment, rehabilitation of persons with disable, unemployment allowances for the disabled, special insurance schemes for the disabled employees as establishment of homes for persons with severe disability etc.

This booklet aims at wider dissemination of the rights conferred upon by the act.

Main Provisions of the Act 

• Prevention and Early Detection of disabilities
• Education
• Employment
• Non - Discrimination
• Research and Manpower Development
• Affirmative Action
• Social; Security
• Grievance Redressal

Prevention and Early Detection of Disabilities

• Surveys, investigations and research shall be conducted to ascertain the cause of occurrence of disabilities.
• Various measures shall be taken to prevent disabilities. Staff at the Primary Health Centres shall be trained to assist.
• All the children shall be screened once a year for identifying '" At -risk" cases.
• Awareness campaign shall be launched and sponsored to disseminate information.
• Measures shall be taken for pre-natal, perinatal and post-natal care of the mother and child.

Education

• Every child with disability shall have the rights to free education till the age of 18 years in integrated  or special schools.
• Appropriate transportation, removal of architectural barriers and restructuring of modification in the examination system shall be ensured for the benefit of children with disabilities.
• Children with disabilities shall have the right to free books, scholarships, uniform and other learning material.
• Special schools for children with disabilities shall be equipped with vocational training facilities.
• Non-formal education shall be promoted for children with disabilities.
• Teachers' training institutions shall be established to develop requisite manpower
• Parents may move to appropriate forum for the redressal of grievances regarding placement of their children with disabilities. 

Employment

• 3% vacancies in government employment shall be reserved for people with disabilities, 1% each for persons suffering from
• Blindness or low vision
• Hearing Impairmen
• Locomotor Disabilities & Cerebral Palsy

• Suitable schemes shall be formulated for
• The training and welfare of persons with disabilities
• The relaxation of upper age limit
• Regulating the employment  
• Health and Safety measures and creation of a non-handicapping environment in
  places where persons with disabilities are employed
• Government Educational Institutes and other Educational Institutes receiving grant from government shall reserve at least 3% seats for people with disabilities
• No employee can be sacked or demoted if they become disabled during service, although they can be moved to another post with same pay and condition. No promotion can be denied because of impairment.

Affirmative Action

• Aids and appliances shall be made available to people with disabilities.

• Allotment of land shall be made at concessional rates to people with disabilities for

• House
• Business
• Special Recreational centres
• Special Schools
• Research Schools
• Factories by Entrepreneurs with Disability

Non - Discrimination   

• Public buildings, rail compartments, buses, ships and air-crafts will be designed to give easy access to people with disabilities
• In all public places and in waiting rooms, toilets shall be wheel chair accessible. Braille and sound signals are also to be provided in lifts
• All the places of public utility shall be made barrier-free by providing ramps

Research and Manpower Development

• Research in the following areas shall be sponsored and promoted
  • Prevention of disability
  • Rehabilitation including CBR
  • Development of Assistive Devices
  • Job identification   
  • On site modification of Offices and Factories
• Financial assistance shall be made available to the universities, other institutions of higher learning, professional bodies and non-government research-units or institutions, for undertaking research for special education, rehabilitation and manpower development

Social Security

• Financial assistance to non-government organizations for rehabilitation of persons with disabilities
• Insurance coverage for the benefit of the government employees with disabilities
• Unemployment allowance to people with disabilities registered with the special employment exchange for more then a year and who could not be placed in any gainful occupation

Grievance Redressal

• In case of violation of rights as prescribed in the Act people with disabilities may move an application to

*  Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities in the Centre

*  Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities in the States