सव भव तु सिखनः ु Annual Report 2022-23 boarding pla orms exist and access to such pla orms is ensured, high floor buses should be phased out from public opera ons in urban local transport. • The agencies/establishments need to be facilitated by a Special Cell created in NIC on an urgent basis to make all websites accessible to persons with disabili es and make all websites accessible complying with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Similarly, private establishments also need to be directed and their licenses to operate be linked to their following the access mandate. • District Disability Commi ees may be created with trained and sensi sed officers and persons with disabili es. • All states need to be directed to submit the details of special courts and special prosecutors in all the states/districts and the details of the cases resolved by these courts. These courts need to be physically accessible and should have the facility of filing cases and conduct hearings, etc. in a hybrid mode. • Accessibility and reasonable accommoda on to be provided in custodial centres like prisons, beggar's homes, mental hospitals, etc. and Prison Manuals need to be updated to incorporate provisions of the RPD Act therein. • The NHRC Toll-free number for making complaints should also be made accessible for be er outreach of the PwDs. 7.7.4 The NHRC, organised another mee ng of the Core Group on Disabili es on 26 July 2022. The agenda of the mee ng was to discuss the dra Na onal Policy for Persons with Disabili es. The mee ng was chaired by Dr. D. M. Mulay, Member, NHRC. A brief presenta on of the dra Na onal Policy for Persons with Disabili es and a presenta on that included general observa ons on the dra Na onal Policy for Persons with Disabili es were made in the mee ng. The dra Na onal Policy for Persons with Disabili es was deliberated upon and several gaps 52 and sugges ons, among others, emerged from the discussions. The Commission decided to make recommenda ons on the said policy and came up with relevant documents. Post this mee ng, the Commission submi ed its comments on the “Dra Na onal Policy for Persons with Disabili es (Divyangjan)” to the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabili es, Ministry of Social Jus ce and Empowerment on 31 August 2022. Some of the major comments/observa ons of the Commission for making necessary amendments in the Policy are given as under: • The Policy may contain a Chapter on 'Access to Jus ce to the Persons with Disabili es (PwDs)' containing inter alia appropriate measures to be taken to ensure compliance to Sec on-12 of the Rights of Persons with Disabili es Act, 2016 (RPD Act 2017) and Ar cle 13 of United Na ons Conven on on Rights of Persons with Disabili es (UNCRPD). • Terms such as 'handicapped' and 'differently abled' have long been replaced by the more honorific term 'specially abled'. Many of the ins tu onal and organisa ons established for welfare of the PwDs, such as Na onal Handicapped Finance and Development Corpora on and State Handicapped Development Corporaons, etc.; however s ll contain term 'Handicapped' in their name/ tle. The Policy may, therefore, provide for renaming of all such ins tuons/organisa ons by subs tu ng the terms “Handicapped” and “differently- abled” by the term “Specially abled”. • Women, children and elderly specially-abled persons living in rural and tribal areas are more vulnerable. The Policy may provide that benefits of various welfare schemes shall be extended to such vulnerable PwDs on priority. • Disability Cer fica on: A er the term “UDID to be linked to all service delivery schemes and programmes” appearing in ninth bullet in para 4.5, the term “Issue of a fresh cer fica on for availing benefit under any scheme shall not be insisted” may be inserted. Chapter 7 - Thematic Areas