In the Court of State Commissioner for
Persons with Disabilities
National
Capital Territory of Delhi
25-
D, Mata Sundari Road, Near Guru Nanak Eye Centre, New Delhi
Phone-011-23216002-04,
Telefax: 011-23216005,
[Vested with powers of Civil Court under the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act,
2016]
Case No. 1108/1101/2019/09/7155-58 Dated:18.10.2019
In the matter of:
Sh. Jayant Singh Raghav & 5 Others
(Email: Jsraghav323@gmail.com) ...........Complainant
Versus
Vice Chancellor,
University of Delhi
Delhi -110007 .…Respondent No. 1
Delhi -110007 .…Respondent No. 1
The Principal,
Ram Lal Anand College,
Benito Juarez Marg, South Campus
South Moti Bagh, New Delhi-110021 ..…Respondent No. 2
Benito Juarez Marg, South Campus
South Moti Bagh, New Delhi-110021 ..…Respondent No. 2
Date of hearing: 09.10.2019
Present: Sh. Jayant
Singh Raghav, Complainant
Dr. P.K.
Pande on behalf of Respondent No. 2
ORDER
The
above named complainant, a person with blindness and 5 others namely Mr. Manik
Gupta, Mr. Kesar, Mr. Mohan and Ms. Nidhi vide their complaint dated 03.09.2019
submitted that they are students of Ram Lal Anand College, Delhi University,
South Campus. The students with
disabilities of the college have demanded basic facilities like ramps/lifts,
tactile paths, electrical wheel chairs, braille number plates out-side every
room of the college and angle players for better learning by students with
visual impairment. They also submitted
that some students with disabilities are not able to attend classes conducted
on the second floor due to non-availability of ramps/lifts. They also alleged
that the Principal of the college is making mental pressure on Sh. Jayant Singh
Raghav by calling his parents to the college. There has been no progress even
after reminding the Vice Chancellor Office, Delhi University.
2. The complaint was taken up with the
respondents vide showcause-cum-hearing notice dated 09.09.2019. The respondents were also informed about the
provisions of Section 16(ii) of the Act which pertains to the duty of the
educational institutions and mandates that building, campus and various
facilities shall be made accessible for persons with disabilities. Rule 15 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Rule, 2017 notified by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (Department
of Empowerment of Persons with Disability) vide notification dated 15.06.2017
was also brought to their notice. The
said rule provides that the standard of public buildings as specified in the “Harmonised
Guidelines and Space Standards for Barrier free Built Environment for Persons
with Disabilities and Elderly Persons” issued by the Government of India,
Ministry of Urban Development in 2016 shall be complied by every
establishment.
3. Further, under Section 42 of the
Act, it is to be ensured that all contents available in audio, print and
electronic media are in accessible format.
Section 45 and 46 of the Act provide for the time limit of 5 years and 2
years from the date of notification of the rules under Section 40 of the Act
for making “public buildings and public facilities and services” accessible for
persons with disabilities i.e by 15th June 2022 and 15th
June 2019 respectively.
4. Therefore they were directed to
showcause why the facilities demanded by the students with disabilities as
mandated in the Act should not be ensured and were advised to submit para-wise
comments on the complaint and their versions of the case within 15 days of
receipt of the notice and a hearing was also scheduled on 09.10.2019.
5. In another Suo-Motu case No.
1097/1101/2019/08, taken up based on a newspaper report about accessibility for
persons with disabilities in and around North Campus of the University of
Delhi, which was linked with this case, Professor Anil K. Aneja, OSD and Dr.
B.K. Tiwary, OSD vide email dated 08.10.2019 had submitted that the notice was
received in their office on 07.10.2019.
Due to prior commitment, it was not possible for them to attend the
hearing. They therefore requested that
the hearing may be scheduled after 20.10.2019 in the afternoon. It has also been submitted therein that Delhi
University is a statutory body under an Act of Parliament and under the
Jurisdiction of UGC and MHRD. Therefore,
it is the office of Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities which is
empowered to look into any grievance relating to University of Delhi. It has further been contended that no
judicial/quasi-judicial action can be initiated merely on the basis of a
Newspaper report especially, when there is no specific compliant before the
Court.
6. In view of the above, while the
request of Delhi University for postponing the hearing of the Suo-Motu case has
been accepted, the pictures published in the newspaper and my observation of
the broken footpaths, their encroachment by venders and unauthorized parking of
vehicles etc. during one of my recent visits to the University corroborate the
veracity of some of the contents published in the newspaper. Hence the matter was taken up under Section
80(b) of the Act, which provides that the State Commissioner shall “inquire,
suo-motu or otherwise deprivation of rights of persons with disabilities and
safeguards available to them in respect of matters for which the State
Government is the appropriate Government and take up the matter with
appropriate authorities for corrective action.” As regards the jurisdiction of the
Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, GNCT of Delhi, Delhi is a Union
Territory and various services and construction and maintenance activities of
the built environment in and around the University is the responsibility of
multiple authorities under the GNCT of Delhi as well as those under the Central
Government. Therefore, jurisdictional
issues may become serious impediments to the efforts in implementing the
mandatory provisions of the socially beneficial legislation. Because of such peculiar nature and
arrangements in NCT of Delhi, the concerned authorities often get entangled in
the quagmire of academic debates and the real and core issues get relegated to
the background. As it has the potential of defeating the very purpose and and the intent of the legislation that too at
a very heavy cost in terms of deprivation of the rights of persons with
disabilities enshrined in the Act, I am inclined to give precedence to
expediency over the principle in larger interest of persons with disabilities.
A socially beneficial legislation must be interpreted in a most expansive manner
with the sole objective of achieving the purpose for which it has been
enacted. Hence, it would be preferable
to take up such matters with the concerned authorities, lest it gets too late. Be
that as it may, the suo-motu matter will be heard and decided after giving
ample opportunity to the University and appreciation of its contention before
passing an order in that case.
7. To appreciation of the submissions made
and in the interest of the parties, this case is delinked for disposal by a
separate order to avoid delay in taking action by Ram Lal Anand College.
8. Vide his reply dated 27.09.2019,
respondent no. 2 (Principal, Ram Lal Anand College) has submitted as under:
“Dear Sir,
Ram Lal Anand College is a Delhi University
maintained institution and is fully funded by the University Grants Commission.
The college serves to about eight PwD students out of which two are blind and
one is locom otory disabled. Rest of them has no such problem of access to the
building or any specific requirement. The college has been strictly following
the guidelines related to persons with Disabilities in respect of student
admission, faculty and staff appointment as well as providing amenities for
differently abled persons as mandated under Rights of Persons with
Disabilities, Act 2016. An inspection of the facilities for PWD students in the
college was done by the University of Delhi on 12.10.2018 and the facilities
were found to be Satisfactory and available (Executive Council meeting minutes
dated 01-02.07.2019 Appendix-XXIV, Resolution 10 attached).
At the outset we would like to respond that
the allegations levelled against the college regarding facilities being
provided to PWD students is false and malicious. Our reply to the above show
cause notice is as under:
I. Accessibility of building and other
resources available for PWD student.
1. Ramps (Photographs attached)
i.
To reach the main building
from the road
ii.
To classrooms from one
section to another
iii.
To office counters
iv.
To library
v.
To canteen
vi.
To principal’s block
2. Lift is under construction
(Photographs attached). The work to commission lift in the college (which is
only two floor building), was given to CPWD on 31.03.2016 under 100% deposit
work in order to avoid any kind of delay or hindrance. The lift has not been
commissioned yet by CPWD. A number of letters have been written and meetings
held with CPWD Engineers to expedite the matter. The complainants have been
informed about this in the meetings of EOC. Letters of communication with CPWD
engineer (copies attached) dated as follows:
i.
31.03.2016
ii.
13.07.2017
iii.
28.09.2017
iv.
26.02.2018
v.
9.05.2018
vi.
13.09.2018
vii.
7.05.2019
viii.
23.09.2019
It may be noted that
while lift is under construction the college administration has been sensitive
enough to assign ground floor rooms only to any and all classes that have PWD
students.
3. Tactile pathways to reach the main
building from gate (Photographs attached)
4. Wheelchairs
i.
Manual wheelchair is
available (Photo attached)
ii.
Motorized wheelchair (1) has
been ordered (Communication attached). Being a Govt organization purchases of
equipment is mandated through the GeM or E tendering process. The college has
been trying to access these sites for placing orders from May 2019 but to some
technical error could not do it. Now the order has been placed and the
motorized wheel chair may be available anytime soon.
5. Braille embossing of room numbers
on room plates installed in the front of all the class rooms on ground floor,
first floor and second floor. This was completed last year in the month of
Sept-Oct 2018 (photo along with the invoice attached). The students have been
informed about this in our joint meetings.
6. Lex Scanner was ordered and is now
available in the library for the visually challenged students (photo and
invoice attached)
7. Angel Players (Two Number) have
been ordered and is yet to be delivered by the vendor. Advance payment has
already been released to the vendor (Communication attached).
II. Other facilities available in college for
PWD students
i.
Exclusive air-conditioned
reading room for PWD students in library with laptop which located at ground
floor (photo attached). Brail books are also made available in this room.
ii.
PWD washroom on ground floor
(photo attached)
iii.
Visually challenged students
are issued laptops in the first year against the rules of the college which
states that the laptops will be issued to only second and third year students.
iv.
The college does not charge
any fees from PWD students, only Rs. 75 is charged towards admission charges as
against the fees of Rs 10,000 and more charged to other students
v.
The visually challenged
students are facilitated to write their examination on laptops apart from
providing scribes to the students in need
vi.
The college runs a
certificate course in Human Values, Ethics and Life Skills. The students
enrolled for this course are encouraged to take up the role of “buddies” for
PWD students by offering them assistance through their three years of college.
A large number of students have volunteered themselves to help these students.
(Notices dated 8.08.2019 and 11.09.2019 and list of volunteers attached)
vii. The
college has a special Committee, Equal Opportunities Cell (EOC) and SUGAM,
to look after the needs of such students. This committee sensitizes other
students towards the PwD students by holding awareness programmes and events.
viii.
Under the convenorship of
Mr. Pratik Kumar, the EOC organised an inter-college two day cultural festival
on 28 and 29 March 2019 (SUGAM 2019) involving 60 PWD students from several
colleges of University of Delhi (detailed report attached). The first day was completely dedicated to the students
coming from the PWD category. In
various activities (such as talent hunt show, slam poetry and debate
competition) more than two hundred fifty
students have participated which includes nearly
sixty PWD students from different colleges of Delhi University. On the
second day, a special society (SUGAM)
for PWD students was formed in the gracious presence of honorable Chairman,
Governing Body and Prof. Bhagwan Lal Sahani, Chairman, National Commission for
Backward Classes. The Cell screened a special episode on disabilities and a
Hindi movie ‘Sadgati’ followed by a panel discussion on ‘Reservation Policy and
its Assessment’.
With
Regards
Dr. Rakesh Kumar Gupta
Principal”
Principal”
9. During the hearing, the complainants
also submitted a rejoinder in response to the reply, which is produced below:
“Sir,
This is in the reference to the mail received from you Dated 04.10.2019. This is the response given by the 4 PWD students and 2 other students of Ram Lal Anand College South Campus Delhi University to the respondent no. 2 in case no. 1108/1101/2019/09/5277-5279 dated 09.09.2019.
This is in the reference to the mail received from you Dated 04.10.2019. This is the response given by the 4 PWD students and 2 other students of Ram Lal Anand College South Campus Delhi University to the respondent no. 2 in case no. 1108/1101/2019/09/5277-5279 dated 09.09.2019.
Response
Point 1 (i)
We need railing on the other side of the ramp also to
avoid any mishap. As the railing (steel) is provided only at one side of the ramp as seen in the attached picture submitted by the respondent at page No.(II)
Point 1 (ii)
There is no ramp to move from ground floor to 1st floor
& to the 2nd floor class rooms, labs, staff room & GCR.
Point 1(iii)
The office counters are on the ground floor so no ramp is
required & to go inside the administrative office no ramp is there. Photo attached at page no. 5
Point 1 (v)
No ramp is required as the path to it is on the same
level.
Point 1 (vi)
No ramp is required as the path to it is on the same
level.
1.
A
ramp is not there at the back side of the principal block, to go to the photocopy shop & sports room. Photo attached at page no.6
2.
Railings
are required at back side of the principal block for the bifurcation of the staircase at both the levels & along with the stair between the stair & principal
block back wall. Photo attached at page no. : 7
Point. 2
As mentioned in the letter the whole payment is made in
advance to the CPWD before 31.03.2016 for the installation of lift. So, what was the last date for completing the installation of the lift as per the contract, and what liabilities are borne by the CPWD if the installation of the lift is not done as per the last date of the contract. What legal actions have been taken till now against CPWD. The lift is not a permanent solution as follows. :
1. There is only one lift in the college.
2. If there is any Technical /Mechanical/Power
disruption/Failure of the lift then what is the remedy/alternative solution is
kept in the mind for a wheel chair user O.H. to come down from the 1st floor
& 2nd floor or go to up 1st floor & 2nd floor of the
college. Even after giving in writing to the college principal, still some of the classes of the PWD students are allotted on the above floor class rooms.
Copy of the application & time table are attached at page no. 8 -10.
Point 3 (ii)
The tactile path from the main gate to the main building
which are given at the left side of drive way, the big pots which are kept just next to the tactile path creates hinderance to the visually handicap persons as
shown in the photographs given by the respondent attached at page XI. At few places the tactile path is broken, which needs to
be repaired Photo attached at page no. : 11 Except this tactile path there is no tactile path in the
entire college attached at page no. 12 – 13.
Point 4 (i)
When a O. H. student took an admission in the college in
2018. So, why did the college administration take more than a year to order for
a motorised wheel chair. Why was the motorised wheel chair ordered after the
issuance of the show cause notice from the state commissioner for person with
disabilities, and why not to be ordered before it. The amended GFR 2019 explicitly talks about the purchase
of goods by purchase committee in case of non-availability of goods on the GeM portal.
Amended copy of GFR 2019 attached. The document attached at page no. : 14 – 33
Point 5
No number plate with brail embossing is there in the
principal’s block on ground floor, outside the administrative block office & microbiology lab. & various other rooms.
Point. 6
When a (V.H.) student took an admission in the college in
2018. So, why did the college administration take more than a year to order for a Lex scanner. Why was the Lex scanner ordered after the issuance of the show
cause notice from the state commissioner for person with disabilities, and why
not to be ordered before it?
No copies of the invoice & photograph are attached by the respondent & still it is not available in the reading room allotted to PWD students in the library.
No copies of the invoice & photograph are attached by the respondent & still it is not available in the reading room allotted to PWD students in the library.
The amended GFR 2019 explicitly talks about the purchase
of goods by purchase committee in case of non-availability of goods on the GeM portal.
Amended copy of GFR 2019 attached. document attached at page no. : 14 – 33
Point. 7
When a (V.H.) student took an admission in the college in
2018. So, why did the college administration take more than a year to order for the Angel player. Why was the Angel player ordered after the issuance of the
show cause notice from the state commissioner for person with disabilities, and
why not to be ordered before it?
No copies of the invoice & photograph are attached by the respondent & still it is not available or given to V.H. students.
The amended GFR 2019 explicitly talks about the purchase of goods by purchase committee in case of non-availability of goods on the GeM portal. Amended copy of GFR 2019 attached. document attached at page no. 14 – 33
No copies of the invoice & photograph are attached by the respondent & still it is not available or given to V.H. students.
The amended GFR 2019 explicitly talks about the purchase of goods by purchase committee in case of non-availability of goods on the GeM portal. Amended copy of GFR 2019 attached. document attached at page no. 14 – 33
Point 7 (ii)
The reading room is used by the office staff &
teaching staff for eating their lunch & various other purposes, more over an OTG is also kept
there for making their lunch warm. attached at page no. 34 -35.
Point 7 (iii)
Point 7 (iii)
When a visually challenged student asked to keep the
laptop till the last day of the 2nd semester to study for the examination & to give examination on laptop the principal of the college refused to do so. when the student approached to OSD (EOC) of D.U. Dr. Vipin Tiwari & put the
matter in detail to him. The OSD (EOC) D.U. intervened in the matter and asked
the convenor of the E.O.C. Dr. Partik Kumar of the college, to ask the
principal to allow the student to keep the laptop to study for the examination
as required by the student. And no security of Rs. 25,000 (Twenty-Five Thousand) is required to be deposited
to the college. For your reference the application written by the student to
the principal is attached at page no. 36 - 37
Point 7 (vii)
The list of volunteers is not attached & why this
“buddies” role is not done by the NSS students in reference to the guidelines Dated October 30, 2012 issued by the (EOC) D.U. attached at page no. 38 – 40.
• Various applications are also attached at the last
which were written to the convener of EOC, Convener of Sugam, Principal of the college & Vice Chancellor of D.U. attached at page no. 41 – 55 Total No. of Pages = 55
Thanking you
Yours truly
1. Jayant singh raghav
2. Manik gupta
3. Jyoti kumara
4. Mohan
5. Keshar
6. Nidhi
(Students of RLA South campus DU)”
10. It will be in the fitness of things
for me to note and record that the complainants, who are young students, have
made a lot of efforts in preparing the rejoinder, taking pictures of the campus
and putting together various circulars, OMs such as General Financial Rules,
2017 OM dated 02.04.2019 of Procurement Policy Division, Department of
Expenditure regarding GeM process, their letters to the concerned authorities
which is appreciable for a concerned young citizens.
11. During the hearing, while the
complainant pointed out that a few things that may appear to be insignificant,
are very important for accessing various facilities in the campus by students
with disabilities.
12. Dr. P.K. Pande, who appeared on behalf
of Ram Lal Anand college reiterated the written submissions and added that the
college campus was access audited/ inspected by a professional team and on its
recommendation, the accessible facilities were improved. He was however not
aware about details of the Access Audit Team. The college has taken appropriate action in
making the campus accessible for students and staff with disabilities and
possible efforts have also been made in allocating the class rooms to various
departments, so as to facilitate access to students with disabilities. However, due to the constraint of space and
inordinate delay in installation and operationalization of the lift, there have
been some issues. But the same is beyond
the control of the college. As regards,
the fracturing of the leg of the complainant due to open manhole, he submitted
that the housekeeping and maintenance contract has been given to the Sulabh
International and this matter will be taken care of so that proper
maintenance of the campus is ensured.
13. After going through the written
submissions and hearing the parties, it is observed that the college has taken
a number of measures for ensuring accessibility for persons with disabilities
inside the campus which the complainants have also acknowledged. However, there are certain issues that need a
re-looked for correction. This should
however be done after a proper accessibility audit by the people who are
trained on accessibility audit with the involvement of primary stake holders
i.e. students/staff with disability.
14. Looking at the response of the
college, it would be a good idea that the college considers making it a model
accessible campus for replication by others in Delhi/elsewhere.
15. It will be worth its while for the
College and the University of Delhi to check and examine the Access Audit report,
its recommendations and the involvement of the Access Audit Team in implementation
of the recommendations. Depending upon
the TOR of the agreement with the Access Audit Team, the College/University
authorities should take appropriate corrective action, if required.
16. It is a matter of concern that it has
taken more than 3½ years for CPWD to install a disabled friendly lift which is
a common and essential requirement especially when 100% funds were provided by
the college / university. The contention of the Executive Engineer INA Project
Division, CPWD vide his letter dated 27.09.2019 that installation of the lift
is specialised item, is not appropriate at all especially when Department of
Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Govt. of India under its SIPDA Scheme,
has got large number of such lifts installed across the country.
17. Although it has been stated that the
commissioning and testing of the lift will be completed by 15.10.2014 and it
will be open for use by students, I must convey the concern of the college and
the students that such delays must be avoided especially when Government of
India has launched Accessible India Campaign and installation of disabled
friendly lifts has been part of the Central Government’s scheme for many years. DG, CPWD/Ministry of UD should address such
issues and streamline.
18. In light of the above, following
recommendations are made:
(i) Respondent No. 2 should
conduct an access audit of the campus by trained persons/professionals
(preferably, not by the team that did it earlier) along with some
students/staff with disabilities of the college within one month from the date
of receipt of this order and implement the recommendation.
(ii) Convey the observation
of this court in Para 15 of this order to the Access Audit Team that
conducted it on the earlier occasion.
(iii) Respondent No.2 may
also consider developing the college as a model accessible campus. If it is
decided to do so, an action plan for the same may be drawn and its
implementation be strictly monitored to ensure that the project is completed
within the timelines fixed.
19. This court be informed of the action taken in the
matter within 3 months from the date of receipt of this order as required under
Section 81 of the Act which reads as under:
“Whenever the State Commissioner makes a
recommendation to an authority in pursuance of clause (b) of section 80, that
authority shall take necessary action on it, and inform the State Commissioner
of the action taken within three months from the date of receipt of the
recommendation:
Provided that where an authority does not accept a
recommendation, it shall convey reasons for non-acceptance to the State
Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities within the period of three months,
and shall also inform the aggrieved person.”
19. The Complaint is disposed of.
20. Given under my hand and the seal of
the Court this 18th day of October, 2019.
(T.D. Dhariyal)
State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities
State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities
Copy to:
1.
Director
General, CPWD Room No. 101-A, Nirman Bhawan New Delhi – 110011: with reference
to submissions of respondent No. 2 in Para 8 at Sl.No.2 and action on Para 17 of this order.
