1. Short title, extent and commencement.-
- This Act may be called the Persons With Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995.
- It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
- It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification, appoint.
2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
-
"Appropriate Government" means,-
- in relation to the Central Government or any establishment/wholly or substantially financed by that Government, or a Cantonment Board constituted under the Cantonment Act, 1924, the Central Government ;
- in relation to a State Government or any establishment wholly or substantially financed by that Government, or any local authority, other than a Cantonment Board, the State Government;
- in respect of the Central Co-ordination Committee and the Central Executive Committee, the Central Government;
- in respect of the State Co-ordination Committee and the State Executive Committee, the State Government;
-
"blindness" refers to a condition where a person suffers from any of the following conditions, namely:-
- total absence of sight; or
- visual acuity not exceeding 6/60 or 20/200 (snellen) in the better eye with correcting lenses; or
- limitation of the field of vision subtending an angle of 20 degree or worse;
- "Central Co-ordination Committee" means the Central Co-ordination Committee constituted under sub-section (1) of section 3;
- "Central Executive Committee" means the Central Executive Committee constituted under sub-section (1) of section 9;
- "cerebral palsy" means a group of non-progressive conditions of a person characterized by abnormal motor control posture resulting from brain insult or injuries occurring in the pre-natal, peri-natal or infant period of development;
- "Chief Commissioner" means the Chief Commissioner appointed under sub-section (1) of section 57
- "Commissioner" means the Commissioner appointed under sub-section (1) of section 60;
- "competent authority" means the authority appointed under section 50;
-
"Disability" means-
- blindness;
- low vision;
- leprosy-cured;
- hearing impairment;
- loco motor disability;
- mental retardation;
-
mental illness;
-
"employer" means,-
- In relation to a Government, the authority notified by the Head of the Department in this behalf or where no such authority is notified, the Head of the Department; and
- in relation to an establishment, the Chief Executive Officer of that establishment;
- "establishment" means a corporation established by or under a Central, Provincial or State Act, or an authority or a body owned or controlled or aided by the Government or a local authority or a Government company as defined in section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956) and includes Departments of a Government;
- "hearing impairment" means loss of sixty decibels or more in the better ear in the conversational range of frequencies;
- "institution for persons with disabilities" means an institution for the reception, care, protection, education, training, rehabilitation or any other service of persons with disabilities;
-
"leprosy cured person" means any person who has been cured of leprosy but is suffering from-
- loss of sensation in hands or feet as well as loss of sensation and paresis in the eye and eye-lid but with no manifest deformity;
- manifest deformity and paresis but having sufficient mobility in their hands and feet to enable them to engage in normal economic activity;
- Extreme physical deformity as well as advanced age which prevents him from undertaking any gainful occupation,
and the expression "leprosy cured" shall be construed accordingly;
- "loco motor disability" means disability of the bones, joints or muscles leading to substantial restriction of the movement of the limbs or any form of cerebral palsy;
- "medical authority" means any hospital or institution specified for the purposes of this Act by notification by the appropriate Government;
- "mental illness" means any mental disorder other than mental retardation;
- "mental retardation" means a condition of arrested or incomplete development of mind of a person which is specially characterized by sub normality of intelligence;
- "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette;
- person with disability" means a person suffering from not less than forty per cent of any disability as certified by a medical authority;
- "person with low vision" means a person with impairment of visual functioning even after treatment or standard refractive correction but who uses or is potentially capable of using vision for the planning or execution of a task with appropriate assistive device;
- "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
- "rehabilitation" refers to a process aimed at enabling persons with disabilities to reach and maintain their optimal physical, sensory, intellectual, psychiatric or social functional levels;
-
"Special Employment Exchange" means any office or place established and maintained by the Government for the collection and furnishing of information, either by keeping of registers or otherwise, respecting-
- persons who seek to engage employees from amongst the persons suffering from disabilities;
- persons with disability who seek employment;
- vacancies to which person with disability seeking employment may be appointed;
- "State Co-ordination Committee" means the State Co-ordination Committee constituted under sub-section (1) of section 13;
- "State Executive Committee" means the State Executive Committee constituted under subsection (l) of section 19
-
"employer" means,-
Facebook comments