News

Volume 8 Issue 9 - December 01, 2011

Five years gone, no review on National Policy for Persons with Disabilities yet

D.N.I.S. News Network, India: The National Policy for Persons with Disabilities, framed in 2006, seems to have gone into oblivion. The lack of implementation of the Policy would certainly suggest so! Besides taking other measures to ensure greater participation of persons with disabilities in public life, the Policy lays down the rule that every five years a comprehensive review will be done on the implementation of the National Policy and that a document indicating status of implementation and a roadmap for five years shall be prepared based on the deliberations at a national level convention. It further says that State Governments and Union Territory administrations will also be urged to take steps for drawing up State Policies and developing action plans.

This however seems very distant indeed, as Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (M.S.J.E.), which is supposed to be the nodal Ministry to coordinate all matters relating to the implementation of the Policy, has drawn a blank on bringing out the comprehensive report and there seem to be no sign of any review of the Policy. With the kind of track record that M.S.J.E. has, it is not a surprise that they have been caught napping yet again!