An account of my visit to a government office

Today I had gone to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MSJE), Shashtri Bhawan to hand over a nomination of a colleague for the National Award. What an experience – it will stay with me for quite a while. It justified yet again my poor opinion of the entire government system.

As I reached there in a car the security guard at the gate asked me to get a pass made from the reception to allow my car in. The driver reversed and we drove around aimlessly trying to find the reception the guard mentioned. It turned out to be some barracks that had been put up next to the entrance. What helped in identifying it was a little common sense and some trial and error. Of course there was no signage to find them.

I sent my carer in to get the pass made because as a wheelchair user it was not accessible to me. It took her twenty minutes to get an entry pass made since by the time she reached it was already 1 pm and like robots that had been functioned in a certain way, everybody seemed to stop working. I wonder the chaos that will happen if the entire country was functioned that way.

Finally she came with the pass and we drove into that important building. I tried entering from the main entrance that lead to the MSJE (no signage was visible). The security guard at the entrance stopped me and directed me to the Facilitation counter instead saying that they would accept the nomination.

So again I got moving trying to locate the facilitation counter for MSJE this time. As before the only way to find it was asking the people around for directions. The facilitation counter was inaccessible too. So I stood outside the office and hailed at the staff to help.

The facilitation staff sent us right back saying that the reception, this time the one located outside the building entrance,  will open at 2 or 215 pm and I should get a pass made and go straight up and submit the form to the Section Officer. It was just 130pm at that time and this mean I needed to wait. The lack of ownership in the way each person performed was irritating me. I asked him sternly whether it was going to be 2pm or 215 pm as for me 15 minutes were important. Unnerved by my sternness ‘2 ‘ he responded.

I pushed my chair right back. As I wheel back Kapil Sibal Hon'ble Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, got out from his car right in front of me. Seeing this arrogant, rude and crude minister come in my way irritated me a little more.

As aggressively as Mr Sibal I said to the security guard that the facilitation officer had sent me right back and I had to enter now and I was not going to wait till 2 or 215pm. Well the aggression worked.

Again asking for directions from the people around I reached the specified room. As I entered I was shocked to see the state of this government office. There was a dirty stale stench in the room that reminded me of toe jam. As I entered a man was sprawled on two chairs sleeping. I had to squeeze my way in so as not to disturb his slumber. All the women were sitting together at one end of the office sharing lunch and chit chatting. Some other staff had head phones on were glued to the Internet watching live news of Anna Hazare’s arrest.

I asked for the officer I needed to hand over the nomination to the section officer. I was directed towards a passage that again was not accessible for me. Somehow I did manage to hand over the nomination finally. Now after having gone through this sad experience where everything from the building to the systems were inaccessible, I really hope that my colleague receives the much deserved award.

It was eerie in some ways. Each government employee had the same complacent expression on their face as though there was nothing could touch their incompetency. There is no reason for them to worry about the anti corruption movement presently staged in India; or should they be worried? 

Physical Infrastructure Accessibility Standards for India

Most of us – people with disabilities – very often visit ‘accessible’ spaces only to find them being designed in a way that in spite of being signposted as ‘accessible’, they are unusable or can be used only with tremendous effort and difficulty. Worse is that there is no way we can complain about poor design of accessible facilities because there are no Standards for infrastructural accessibility that have been adopted by our country. This leaves the designers and planners to design based on innumerable guidance available online that may or may not be the best for us.

The three accessibility guidelines brought out by various Ministries include the C.P.W.D. design guidelines published by the Ministry of Urban Development, ‘Planning a Barrier Free Environment’ published by the Office of the Chief Commissioner, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Accessibility chapter in the National Building Code by the Bureau of Indian Standards. According to a survey undertaken by AccessAbility, only 11% of architects were aware and used either of these to get information about accessible design. Most relied on the internet for information. This is so because all of these are guidances and none are mandated in India.

With this background, a welcome step taken by the Ministry of Urban Development (M.U.D.) is the effort to harmonize the three above mentioned documents and update them to the latest design requirements as per international standards. Having Accessibility Standards that are adopted and are applicable to the entire nation is the first step for ensuring appropriate and uniform accessibility throughout.


M.U.D. has constituted a ‘Committee for Harmonization of Guidelines for Barrier-Free Built Access.’ It was decided by this Committee early last year to form a Sub-Group for drafting Building Accessibility Standards/Guidelines. Regular meetings are being held under the Director of M.U.D., Ashutosh Joshi with group members that include Papiya Sarkar, Senior Architect, C.P.W.D.; J.B. Kshirsagar, Chief Planner, T.C.P.O.; A.K. Saini of Bureau of Indian Standards; M.L. Chotani, Director, A.M.D.A.; AccessAbility; Samarthyam and Svayam.

Over fifteen meetings have taken place, with the Sub-Group discussing and developing the draft taking into account the best practices followed elsewhere in the world. We hope to come out with a very comprehensive and progressive document that addresses the needs of people with different disabilities, may they be physical, cognitive or sensory. It has also been decided that the document will spell out the minimum requirements that must be complied with. Additionally for old buildings being retrofitted, there may be some relaxation, yet ensuring access.

Efforts are being made to write the draft in simple language without too much of technical jargon. The text is complemented with lots of illustrations for easy understanding by all.

The Sub-Group had initially committed a time frame of two months to develop this draft. In spite of regular meetings, it has taken longer, the reason being that to get a quality document extensive discussions are necessary. Once the draft is ready, it will be put in public domain for recommendations from the sector and architects, planners, etc. before it is finalized.

Having Accessibility Standards applicable to the entire nation, according to me, is the first step towards expecting effective change throughout the country, rather than just in major metros like Delhi. If things work out the way they have been planned - that the draft is finalized and M.U.D. is able to make it applicable to the entire nation, then we can expect consistency in the design of accessible spaces and would not be disappointed when a space signposted as being accessible is actually inaccessible, quite like the restrooms at the new Bangalore and Hyderabad Airports.

The fact that M.U.D. is finally developing these Standards is a clear indication that they are rightfully taking responsibility of providing accessibility that till now was considered to be with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Also in a country like ours where there are no professional ‘Access Auditors’, any disabled person becomes an access auditor by virtue of her/his being disabled, with one Standard there is little chance of missing out on important issues while making recommendations for access improvements.

The final Standards would probably need to be adopted by each State in their Building Byelaws unless M.U.D. has other ways and power of getting them enforced.

Developing these Accessibility Standards/Guidelines is certainly a step in the right direction and hopefully would positively impact accessibility in our country in the years ahead.

Being a part of something bigger than yourself

 World Disability Day, Delhi, 2008. There was a Dharna called for at the India Gate with three main demands.

-          Each Ministry to have a clear cut plan on disability

-          Each Ministry to allocate 3% resources on disability issues as mandated in the XIth plan

-          Government to set up a separate Ministry for Disability

I have been disabled for the last 16 years. I have been working in the disability sector for the last 12 years with a complete urban experience only. I participated in the Dharna half heartedly. At the back of my mind there were apprehensions and unwillingness to be a part of such an activity.

I reached there with my colleagues and friends. We purposefully went an hour late as I thought no one will be there on time anyways. By the time we reached there the venue was packed up with over 10,000 people. I had never seen such a large crowd of people and let alone disabled people. There were people from all states of India – disabled people; grassroots workers; friends and family of disabled people. They all had one cry ‘Viklang Ekta Zinda Baad’ (Hail to disabled unity!)

I was completely shaken by the fact that there were these groups of disabled people who had traveled from small villages to Delhi to demand their basic rights. People from southern states wore short lungis that was no protection against the unforgiving Delhi cold. Many of them did not even have a sweater. There were crawlers who must have traveled all the way from their village in our shoddy inaccessible trains. But this seemed insignificant as against their conviction to get their rights. They were all ready to sit through the night in this open venue if required. 

When I compared myself, as so called role model (having received several awards), I felt absolutely worthless and uncommitted to a cause I have been working for all these 12 years. My concerns of poor standards and understanding of Inclusion seemed so trivial in front of their basic demands.

I am humbled by the spirit of all these people and salute their conviction. Each one of them was a true inspiration and a role model to me.