My wish list from Aam Aadmi Party for disabled community – My Take by Akeel Usmani

The Aam Aadmi Party is back with a decisive majority in Delhi and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has called the mandate a vistory for the people of Delhi. In My Take disability rights activist Akeel Usmani who has filed many important petitions regarding implementation of education and other important schemes for the disabled community puts forth his wish list from the Delhi government.

Inclusive development consists of ensuring that all marginalised and excluded groups are stakeholders in the development process. However, the reality is that the disabled are excluded from development because of their disability, lack of accessibility, poverty and poor education.

Issues of disabled people disregarded by Delhi government

As per the Census 2011, 2,34,882 persons are disabled. This is 1.4% of the total disabled population of this country. Now, let’s turn the spotlight on Delhi. Being the national capital, schemes and other benefits for the community should be easier to access. As per official records, only 17.43% of the disabled population in Delhi are graduates. This is when education is the fundamental factor of development. The government of India enacted the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 to give effect to an international convention regarding the same.

The Aam Aadmi Party, which has won the elections in Delhi three times in a row, ignored persons with disabilities in its manifesto. There is no specific mention of disabled people and the Delhi government has also failed to follow fully the mandate of the RPWD Act. Over three years after the Act came into force, the Delhi government has not constituted a state fund for people with disabilities as specified under Section 88 of the Act. It has also failed to formulate a State Advisory Board of Persons with Disabilities as well as a district-level committee on disability as specified under Section 72 of the Act. (Source: RTI )

Disability and development have traditionally been regarded as separate fields. Development policies, planning and programming have largely failed to take into account disability issues. Development targets cannot be achieved unless disability is treated as a cross cutting Issue. Mainstreaming disability into all areas of development can help ensure that rights of persons with disabilities are not disregarded and excluded.

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