Syllabus: GS-II, Polity and Governance; GS-II, Social Justice;
Subject: Social Justice;
Topic: Mechanisms, Laws, Institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections;
Issue: PwD act, 2016;
Context: People with blood disorders such as thalassemia, haemophilia and sickle cell disease are not eligible for reservation in government jobs under the Persons with Disabilities category, the Social Justice Ministry told Parliament.
Synopsis:
- Government directive: Minister of State for Social Justice Pratima Bhoumik said that under Section 34 of the law, “persons with blood disorders including Thalassemia are not eligible for reservation in jobs in government establishments”.
- Concerns of the activists: The three diseases were included on the list of disabilities under the Right to Persons with Disabilities Act of 2016, which had led activists to believe at the time that benefits such as reservation would follow.
- Activists say it defeats the entire purpose of having included them on the list.
Background:
About Right to Persons with Disabilities Act of 2016:
- The Act replaces the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. It fulfills the obligations to the United National Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), to which India is a signatory.
- Define disability: According to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, Disability has been defined based on an evolving and dynamic concept.
Salient features of the Act:
Disabilities covered:-
- Physical Disability – Locomotor Disability; Leprosy Cured Person; Cerebral Palsy; Dwarfism; Muscular Dystrophy; Acid Attack Victims; Visual Impairment (Blindness; Low Vision); Hearing Impairment (Deaf; Hard of Hearing); Speech and Language Disability.
- Intellectual Disability – Specific Learning Disabilities; Autism Spectrum Disorder.
- Mental Behaviour – Mental Illness
- Disability caused due to – Chronic Neurological Conditions (Multiple Sclerosis; Parkinson’s disease); Blood Disorder (Haemophilia; Thalassemia; Sickle Cell Disease) and other Multiple Disabilities.
- Persons with benchmark disabilities are defined as those certified to have at least 40% of the disabilities specified above.
Rights and entitlements
- Responsibility has been cast upon the appropriate governments to take effective measures to ensure that the persons with disabilities enjoy their rights equally with others.
- Additional benefits: such as reservation in higher education (not less than 5%), government jobs (not less than 4 %), reservation in allocation of land, poverty alleviation schemes (5% allotment) etc. have been provided for persons with benchmark disabilities and those with high support needs.
- Every child with benchmark disability: between the age group of 6 and 18 years shall have the right to free education.
- Government funded educational institutions: as well as the government recognized institutions will have to provide inclusive education to the children with disabilities.
- For strengthening the Prime Minister’s Accessible India Campaign, stress has been given to ensure accessibility in public buildings (both Government and private) in a prescribed time-frame.
