*Ensure facilities for the disabled in edu institutes, HC tells state* · The Times of India (Mumbai edition)
· 19 Jul 2018 · Shibu.Thomas@ timesgroup.com Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Wednesday directed the Maharashtra government to take steps to ensure that educational institutions across the state have disabled-friendly facilities. “Basic facilities should be provided in every educational institution so that students with disabilities can access the buildings without problems. At least start with constructing ramps and disabled-friendly toilets,” said a division bench of Justices Naresh Patil and Girish Kulkarni. The court was hearing a petition seeking disabled-friendly facilities in Pune colleges that had been converted into a public interest litigation. The bench said the scope should be restricted not just to Pune, but also institutions in Mumbai and other parts of the state. Advocate Rui Rodrigues, counsel for University of Mumbai, informed HC that there were already mandatory clauses that required professional colleges, like engineering, from having barrier-free environment in the buildings. Lack of disabled-friendly facilities was grounds to reject permission for commencing courses or renewal permissions, the advocate said. There were, however, no such requirements when it comes to other colleges. The HC bench pointed to Section 44(2) of the Right of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, which said that no establishment should be issued with a certificate of completion or allowed to take occupation of a building unless it has adhered to the rules formulated by the central government pertaining to barrier-free environment for disabled people. Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
