WE CANNOT talk about the rights of children, women, senior citizens, prisoners or migrants, without talking about the rights of persons with disability — because disability is a cross cutting issue and it affects every section of society. Be it children, women, senior citizens, prisoners or migrants. India is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability, as a result of which India notified the Rights of Persons with Disability (RPWD) Act 2016.
This Act focuses on non-discrimination and equal opportunity for persons with disability and gives many rights to persons with disability in terms of education, employment, accessibility, art and culture, health, sports, justice and social security but the foundation of all these rights is accessibility because we cannot talk of right to education if schools and colleges are not accessible to children with disability. We cannot talk of right to employment if work places and transportation is not accessible to people with disability. We cannot talk of right to art and culture, health, justice and sports if public places like theatres, auditoriums, health centers, courts, stadiums, market places and bus stops are not accessible to persons with disability and we cannot talk about right to social security if banks, panchayats, municipalities and government offices are not accessible to persons with disability. In short we have failed as a society to empower the weaker sections of society if we cannot provide accessibility to persons with disability.
Accessibility is not only in terms of physical infrastructure for persons with orthopaedic disability but also in terms of information, communication and technology for persons with visual and hearing impairment. Goa has many persons with disability who are educated, employed, empowered, self reliant, tax payers and role models even at national level but their mobility and contribution to society is hampered due to inaccessible infrastructure.
Section 40 to 44 of the RPWD Act 2016 mandates that no public buildings shall be given construction licenses or occupancy certificates if the building does not conform to the accessibility standards laid by the Central Government in terms of ramps, lifts, handrails, tactiles, fire alarms, accessible toilets, signages etc. Section 45 of the RPWD Act 2016 mandates that all existing public buildings before notification of the Act should be made accessible within a period of 5 years of notification the Act. However it is seen that despite laws and directions in place including court orders, crores of rupees are spent on new buildings and to make existing buildings accessible for persons with disability but they are not as per the specifications mandated under the RPWD Act.
Also it is seen that public programs are organized in places which are not accessible for persons with disability. This is a criminal waste of public tax-payers money which includes people with disability and trampling of their rights but sadly there is no accountability among government authorities. Even the poorest of the poor pays tax like GST, road tax and panchayat tax and they have a right to accessibility in public buildings and public programs.
All this is mandated under the RPWD Act 2016 but nobody cares even though 8% of our population comprises of persons with disability, senior citizens and people with temporary disability who would also benefit from any accessible infrastructure. The government of Goa started a separate department for empowerment for persons with disability this year but what is the use of it if there is no accessibility in public places and programs even after eight years of the RPWD Act 2016 and two purple festivals? Accessibility is the foundation of all rights of persons with disability.
As we start another new year let us commit ourselves to making Goa a more inclusive and accessible place for persons with disability.

(Avelino de Sa is founder and president of Disability Rights Association of Goa and Board Member National Trust, Ministry of Social Justice, Govt of India, and a financial consultant by profession.)