सव भव तु सिखनः ु Magistrate, Southwest Delhi failed to comply with the order of the Commission without lawful excuse, the District Magistrate, Southwest Delhi might be subjected to the consequences of non-a endance laid down in Rule 10 and Rule 12 of Order XVI of Civil Procedure Code, 1908 and the Commission may be constrained to ini ate criminal proceedings under Sec ons 175/176 of Indian Penal Code, 1860, and such other ac on as it deemed proper under the Law. The Commission observed that the issue raised by the complainant has been duly a ended and the case was registered under Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Ci zens Act, 2007, and is presently subjudice before the Tribunal. The Commission closed the ma er on 26 July 2022. 7.7 Rights of Persons with Disabili es (PwD) 7.7.1 India has shi ed its understanding of disability from a medical model to a rights-based model by enac ng the Rights of Persons with Disabili es Act (RPwD), 2016. The new Act now recognises 21 categories of disabili es. 7.7.2 The Commission believes in the fact that persons with disabili es should enjoy all human rights on an equal basis with others. Towards this end, it has adopted a mul -pronged approach wherein it regularly inves gates cases of viola on of human rights, reviews exis ng legisla ve framework and implementa on of schemes, undertakes mee ngs with various stakeholders on issues concerning them and entrusts research projects, to make recommenda ons towards the protec on of their rights. Further, the Commission regularly publishes booklets, manuals, journals, etc. to create awareness about disability rights. During the year 202223, the Commission undertook the following ac vi es with regard to the rights of persons with disabili es. 7.7.3 The NHRC organised a mee ng of the Core Group on Rights of Persons with Disabili es on 13 April 2022 in hybrid mode under the chairpersonship of Dr. D. M. Mulay, Member. The mee ng was a ended by Chapter 7 - Thematic Areas the Core Group Members, representa ves from Ministry of Social Jus ce and Empowerment and Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabili es, domain experts/special invitees from various ins tu ons and CSOs along with the Senior Officials of the Commission. The agenda of the mee ng was to discuss on “Compliance by the Government Ins tu ons/ Organisa ons in providing access to the Persons with Disabili es as per the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabili es Act, 2016”. In order to see the compliance of the statutory provisions related to accessibility in the NHRC Building (Manav Adhikar Bhawan), an inspec on visit was also conducted by the Chair, along with the Members of the Core Group and NHRC Officials. Some of the recommenda ons emanated from the mee ng, include: • All government departments to formulate and publish an Ac on Plan in compliance with Sec on 45 (2) of the RPD Act, specifying the steps (short term, mid-term, long term) to be taken to ensure compliance to RPD Act. • All Ministries/Departments to set up Access Coordina on Commi ee headed by a senior officer to follow up the Ac on Plan, conduct training and sensi sa on programmes within the organisa on and get Access Audits of their buildings, websites, services and infrastructure conducted, as required. • States should align their Development Control Rules and General Building Requirements with the Na onal Building Code 2016/ Harmonised Guidelines for Accessibility immediately. All Urban Local Bodies be directed to appoint Responsible and Trained Officers/ or create mechanism for selfcheck and self-declara on countersigned by a registered Architect, who will tes fy that the building plan adheres to access requirement both at the drawing stage and at the comple on stage. • All buses deployed for urban transport services must be low floor and have accessibility features. The states must use their purchasing power to ensure that market players provide accessible transport solu ons at a lower cost. Except on dedicated BRT routes where corresponding 51