A Bill seeking to enhance the three per cent reservation for disabled persons in public sector jobs to five per cent was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Friday. The Bill also seeks to reserve seats for the differently-able in higher educational institutions.
The Bill further seeks to provide for the setting up of a national commission and a national fund for the disabled. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014, which seeks to bring sweeping changes in the earlier Bill and broaden the ambit of disability from existing seven to 19 categories, was introduced amid din by Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Mallikarjun Kharge. The Bill covers a variety of issues relating to the disabled persons such as physical, mental and multiple disabilities.
So far, the reservation for the disabled was only three per cent in the ratio of one per cent each for the physically, visually and hearing-impaired. The new law extends the quota by two per cent, covering two new categories - mentally disabled and people with multiple disabilities. Besides broadening the ambit under the disability law by introducing 19 categories of disabilities against seven that were covered under the 1995 law, the new Bill provides for stringent punitive measures under which anyone violating the provisions could face from six months to five years in prison and a fine from Rs 10,000 to Rs 5 lakh.
In December last year, the Union Cabinet had approved the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill to replace the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunity Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act of 1995. A draft Bill was submitted to MSJE in 2011. later, the Ministry released the Draft Bill 2012 with modifications. CPI-M, however, demanded that it should be referred to a Standing Committee for further consideration. As soon as Kharge introduced the Bill, Yechury rose to his feet demanding that the Bill should be referred to a Standing Committee.
Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien said that Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari will look into the demand. The Government has maintained that the Bill is in consonance with the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which India signed in 2007.