Central government favours disabled-friendly buildings
By IANSWednesday, October 6, 2010
NEW DELHI - To provide easy accessibility to people with disabilities in state government buildings, main hospitals and universities, the central government Wednesday invited proposals from the states for central assistance.
The central assistance will also be provided to build government websites at the state and district levels more accessible to the disabled people.
The proposals have been invited by the union ministry of social justice and empowerment under the scheme for implementation of Persons with Disabilities (PwD) Act after a major increase in the annual allocation under this scheme from the earlier Rs.20 crore to Rs.100 crore this year.
The ministry has made a notional allocation to the states based on their population of people with disabilities as per the 2001 census and requested them to send proposals on that basis.
For instance, a notional allocation of Rs.16.50 crore has been made for Uttar Pradesh, Rs.8.90 crore for West Bengal, Rs.7.90 crore for Tamil Nadu and Rs.7.60 crore for Maharashtra.
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, of which India is a signatory, calls for making workplaces, buildings and the likes accessible to people with disabilities.
