News

Volume 7 Issue 7 - April 01, 2010

Urban Development Ministry forms Sub Group to harmonise access guidelines

D.N.I.S. News Network, India: In October last year, the Ministry of Urban Development had formed a Committee to harmonise the three existing guidelines on access. D.N.I.S. was the first to break this news. After months of being in limbo, the Committee met again on March 15 and a Sub Group was formed to come out with a fresh set of access guidelines in the next two months.

The Sub Group consists of A.K. Saini and Sanjay Pant of the Bureau of Indian Standards; Papiya Sarkar of Central Public Works Department (C.P.W.D.); M.L. Chotani of Association of Municipalities and Development Authorities (A.M.D.A.); J.B. Kshirsagar of Town and Country Planning Organisation (T.C.P.O.); Shivani Gupta of AccessAbility; Sminu Jindal of Svayam; and Anjlee Agarwal of Samarthyam.

The Sub Group had its first meeting on March 23 and discussed the contents of the new guidelines.

This is being seen as a welcome change from the earlier attitude of indifference of the Urban Development Ministry. Infact, even when the Committee was formed, credible names in the field of accessibility were not considered. It took N.C.P.E.D.P.’s meetings with Jaipal Reddy, Minister for Urban Development and with R.C. Mishra, Additional Secretary, Urban Development to make the Ministry see sense.