The white paper provides a comprehensive overview of the legal framework at the international, national, state and municipal level that govern the rights of persons with disabilities and matters that affect their accessibility to urban spaces. At the international level, the white paper focuses on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Goal 11 of the UN Sustainable Development Agenda, 2015 and the New Urban Agenda, 2016.
At the national level, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act of 2016, acts as a foundational statute that guarantees the progressive realisation of rights of persons with disabilities. The Urban and Regional Development Plans: Formulation and Implementation (URDPFI) Guidelines; the National Urban Transport Policy, 2014; the Harmonised Guidelines and Space Standards for Barrier Free Built Environment for Persons with Disabilities and Elderly Persons, 2016 (and as revised in 2021); and the Guidelines for Indian Government Websites, 2019 provide for the legal norms to be adhered to in the realisation of said rights.
While the laws and policies affecting accessibility standards usually originate at the national level, their adoption and implementation falls within the mandate of the state government, and state and municipal level agencies and authorities.
Hence, within the State of Karnataka and for the city of Bengaluru, it would be the Directorate of Town and Country Planning for Karnataka, the Bangalore Development Authority and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (Bengaluru’s Urban Local Body) among other agencies, that would be responsible for issuing bye-laws, preparing master plans and other rules and policies that lay down the specifications for accessibility.
Source: Barandbench
