Delhi’s disability act widened to include 21 disorders, will help in availing concessions

All differently abled persons in Delhi will finally start getting disability certificates, which will help them avail of concessions in education, health services and loan facilities.

The Delhi government on Friday notified amendments to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, which were pending for over one-and-a-half years.

The notification was delayed as Delhi does not fall in the category of a ‘state’ as mentioned in the rules, social welfare minister Rajendra Pal Gautam said.

“The Delhi government had to obtain a clearance from the lieutenant governor (L-G) to approach the home ministry in this regard,” he said.

The notification will enable differently abled people to avail of concessions in education, health services, loan facilities, and get jobs and other benefits under various government schemes. To apply for any reservation or welfare scheme, a certificate of disability is needed.

Under the Act, the definition of disability has been widened to include even learning problems. From seven, the number of disabilities that would be accepted has been increased to 21. These include muscular dystrophy, thalassemia, haemophilia and sickle cell disease.

“People who had any of the 14 newly added disabilities were not able to gain benefits of various schemes because this act was not notified in Delhi. As a result, hospitals also could not issue disability certificates in such cases. Now that the act is notified, all this will be streamlined in a week,” said an official in the social welfare department.

Explaining the reason for the delay, the government in a statement said that section 101 of the RPwD Act, 2016, confers powers upon a state government to make such rules. “However, the term, ‘state government’, has not been defined in the RPwD Act, 2016, for Delhi. Therefore, it was sent to the L-G for clearance,” it said.

Gautam said the government was working to form a dedicated department for persons with disabilities. Public consultation and suggestions have been invited from stakeholders in this regard, he said.