TO OBSERVE THE SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY of the enactment of the Disability Act, 1995, a day-long dharna was held outside the office of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on February 7. The dharna was organised by Disabled Rights Group (DRG), a cross disability advocacy group working for the rights of disabled people, as their first programme of a month-long campaign against the private sector’s callous attitude towards disability issues. Disabled people, their parents and NGOs participated in the dharna.

Around 250 disabled people participated in the dharna which began at 10 a.m and continued till 4 p.m. Among the organisations that took part were Action for Abilities Development and    Inclusion (AADI), Delhi Deaf Friendship Club, Swavalamban, the Leprosy Mission and Deepalaya.

The Disability Act, 1995, which was enacted on 7 February 1996, had instilled a ray of hope in the disabled population. The Act gives the disabled people the right to education, employment, etc. According to the Act, the private sector should employ 5 per cent disabled people in its total work force. It also says that all public places should be made accessible to them. The Act placed the responsibility on the society for providing an amicable environment and equal opportunities for the disabled.

A press release issued by the DRG states that the disability sector, to a fair extent, has been successful in negotiating with the government and the public sector for equal opportunities for disabled people. Unfortunately, due to its sluggishness, the private sector has not taken this issue seriously.

According to a survey conducted among the top 100 companies in India by the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) in 1999, various surprising facts emerged. Many private sector companies do not employ even a single disabled person. The average employment rate of physically challenged people in the private sector, according to the report, was just 0.28 per cent. Javed Abidi, Convenor of DRG, said, "When this survey was conducted, the average rate of disabled people employed was found to be 0.4 per cent. In multinational companies, the average was much lower at 0.05 % and in the private sector it was 0.2 per cent." He added, "The section 41 of the Constitution says that the private sector should employ 5 per cent of disabled work force. In India 6-7 per cent of the population are disabled and 70 lakh among them are educated and skilled. They are capable and yet discriminated due to disability."

Abidi said to sensitise the private sector for opening up door to the disabled people, umpteen number of seminars, workshops and conferences had been conducted. Due to the indifferent attitude to the issue by the private sector, the job opportunities to the physically challenged people were not provided. He said, "Rahul Bajaj, Chairman and Managing Director of CII, and several people from CII have attended and delivered speeches in our seminars and workshops. Now the time has come to translate their thoughts and words into action."

Pankaj Kapoor from AADI said, "Jobs are limited in the private sector for the disabled. Even if the jobs are provided, there is an accessibility problem. I am on the wheelchair. If I get a job in the private sector will they provide me accessibility to the office? Even though problems may not be solved, it is the beginning of a bargain with the private sector."

Kapoor’s colleague Madhu Grover said, "If the disabled are earning, they are contributing to the economy of the country. If a disabled person is given job, a conducive environment must be provided to him. We all are `temporarily abled`. All of us will become disabled when we grow old. Therefore, it is not a minority group."

A delegation of 12 DRG members met CII Director General, Tarun Das and Deputy Director General, S Sen, and they agreed to the following points:

  (a)            An internal core group on disability would be set up as the CII does not have a framed structure on disability at present

  (b)            The CII will soon work on framing a policy on incentives for companies in the private sector for employing disabled people

  (c)            The CII will draw a programme on access under its construction division headed by Ajit Gulabchand for sensitising architects, corporates, and construction firms, etc

  (d)            There is a need for an anti-discrimination policy vis-à-vis employment of the disabled people in the private sector

  (e)            The CII will write to the Finance Minister on the issue of exemption of customs/ excise tariffs on aids and appliance used by the disabled people.