Disabilities bill: AAP says delay because ‘status of state unclear’

Three days after the BJP attacked AAP for allegedly delaying the implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill 2016, the Delhi government said the delay was because Delhi’s “status as a state is still unclear”.

Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta Tuesday urged L-G Anil Baijal to “ensure that the Delhi government urgently adopt the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill 2016”, passed by the Parliament last year. “There is an urgent need to formulate disabled-friendly schemes to promote the rights of persons with disabilities. But the Delhi government has not initiated the process for introduction of the bill in the Assembly,” he said.

After the Act came into force on April 19, 2017, the Centre had notified the Central rules for the Act on June 15. The Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment had on June 13 directed that “state governments/ UTs may frame their own rules… subject to condition of previous publications by notification not later than six months from date of commencement of this Act”.

A government official said, “The Act says that state governments or UTs may frame their own rules — but this doesn’t apply to Delhi and a case regarding this is in the Supreme Court. As things stand right now, this doesn’t extend to us, hence the delay.”

The Delhi government wrote to the L-G on Friday, “seeking permission to approach the Ministry of Home Affairs”. The official explained, “Once we get that permission, the MHA will have to write to the L-G so that they can, in turn, give us permission to frame the rules.”

Officials added that the Delhi government had drafted the state rules along the lines of the model on July 26.