RIGHTS OF THE VULNERABLE ! 89 the. views of the Commission were conveyed in detail to the Minister. The latter, in turn, informed the Commission that the draft policy on land acquisition had been framed by his Department and had also been considered by a group of Ministers. He stated that his Ministry necessarily had to consider the divergent views expressed by various wings of the Government on the question of acquisition of land for projects, including those of the Railway and Telecom sectors. The Minister nevertheless stated that he appreciated the suggestions made by the Commission and promised that these would be placed before the Cabinet for consideration. The Commission is of the view that it is of vital importance that the right to livelihood and dignity of leikhs of vulnerable citizens of this country, who are affected by the acquisition of land for mega projects, should be protected in the manner proposed by the Commission. The reasons advanced by the Commission are spelled out in detail in its last annual report, they are therefore not being repeated here. The Commission takes this opportunity to urge, once again, that the National Policy to be adopted in this respect must be based on principles that are fair, just and transparent and that conform with the Constitution and the treaty obligations of this country, particularly ILO Convention 107, to which India is a party and which provides for the protection of the rights of indigenous and tribal people. C] Rights of the Disabled 8.31 The approach to people with disabilities, both nationally and internationally, has, for far too long, been built on a model of care and entitlement based on charity and the assumption that disability is an individual pathology, a condition grounded in the psychological, biological or cognitive impairment of the individual. For the Commission, however, there is need for a paradigm shift in this respect, and a necessity to view questions relating to disability through the perspective of human rights. 8.32 The goal of most policies and schemes has, thus far, generally been the shortterm alleviation of individual problems, using state institutions, voluntary organisations and bi-lateral and multi-lateral funding bodies for the granting benefits to persons with disabilities. More recently, however, governments have begim to recognise that disability is a 'social' pathology. 8.33 The Commission, for its part, has been interacting with the Central and State Governments to take stock of the facilities provided to persons with disabilities. ANNUAL REPORT 2001-2002