Centre to amend laws relating to disabled people -- Maneka

Centre to amend laws relating to disabled people -- Maneka
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

NEW DELHI, MARCH 31: Centre will bring in legislationto amend the existing laws relating to the welfare of disabled people to ensure them more jobs, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Maneka Gandhi said here today.

The proposed amendment in The Persons with Disabilities(Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act (PDA), 1995 has already been sent to the Cabinet for consideration, Gandhi told PTI.

The amendment will also widen the scope of the word"disabled" to include all sorts of disabilities -- physical, mental or otherwise, she said.

Earlier, participating in the inaugural session of aseminar "Towards An Enabling Legal Environment: Rights of Persons with Disabilities", she said PDA was a well intended Act but somehow it was not working properly and an amendment had become necessary to make it more stronger and effective.

The Minister said Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI)Act will also be amended to provide a better rehabilitation regime for the disabled people. RCI will set up six regional centres in the country to effectively monitor various projects undertaken by it, she added.

Gandhi lamented that "we do not have exact number ofdisabled in our country," and blamed it on the general attitude of not coming out for registration of the disabled persons.

She called for sensitising people about the rights of thedisabled as they were not able to articulate their needs.