the goan I network
PANAJI
After much delay, the State government has finally designated the District and Sessions Courts of North and South Goa as arbiters to try offences under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Act, 2016.
A notification issued by the Social Welfare Department said the government has secured concurrence of the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court to designate the highest district-level courts to discharge the judicial responsibilities as per section 84 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
Interestingly, the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court had conveyed his office’s concurrence to the State government way back in August this year and the delay to issue the notification has gone unexplained.
Interestingly, the position of a full-time State Disability Commissioner, another mandatory provision of the Act, is vacant for more than 21 months, ever since the then incumbent Anuradha Joshi vacated the position in March 2018. The position, which is quasi-judicial, is being looked after temporarily by Director of Social Welfare Umeshchandra Joshi as an additional charge and those working in the field say the situation is unsatisfactory.
Avelino de Sa, President of the Disability Rights Association of Goa (DRAG), told The Goan that issues such as accessibility to buildings, including government offices and ensuring the backlog of vacancies for PswDs, are some of the main concerns that a Commissioner needs to address and do not get the required attention.
Also, the Disability Commissioner has to conduct a survey and create a list of how many people in Goa are PswD under the Act which lists 21 disabilities.
“We need to know the strength of the disability sector, as everything depends on numbers if we are making a demand to the government. We can say these many people are affected by the problem,” another social worker in the field said, adding it is unfair to both Joshi and PswDs that the former holds additional charge as commissioner.
“Very often, the grievances are against the Department itself. How is the director of the Department himself expected to issue orders or directives?” the activist asked.
