Many government websites, both of the states and the Centre, remain
inaccessible to people with disabilities. This is an issue that the disabled
community and experts have raised time and again.
In a recent development, the Centre informed the Madras High
Court that over 63 government websites have been made
disabled-friendly and that 14 more are on its way to being made accessible
for people with different kinds of disabilities. This was said by in response
to a public interest litigation (PIL) submitted by advocate Syed
Ansari asking the government to make all its accessible.
Ansari, who has low vision, stated in his PIL that the government must ensure
all its websites adhere to the guidelines of the Indian government websites,
while also incorporating the Web Accessibility guidelines. The Centre has
made a start but it’s s small one given the many number of government
websites in India, as Muralidharan Vishwanath,
General Secretary, National Platform for the Rights
of Disabled (NPRD) points out.
When compared to the hundreds of government departments and websites that
are available, 63 is a very small amount. In January 2018, authorities had
confirmed that they will make 917 websites accessible for people with all
kinds of disabilities. It has been over a year now and nothing substantial
has been done. The guideline was set by the RPWD Act, 2016.
–Muralidharan Vishwanath, General Secretary, National Platform for
the Rights of Disabled
The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 states
that there must be no discrimination in government platforms. Also, websites
must be made barrier-free according to the law. So the question is, why the
delay?
Jomy Joseph, a disability rights activist based in Kerala
says that this must be given priority, especially for people with visual
disabilities.
“There are certain criteria to be followed in order to make websites
accessible for visually impaired people like colours and fonts. I have felt
that their requirements are often marginalised. Visually impaired people
constitute a huge chunk of our society. So it is important that websites are
made accessible so that they can also participate in the processes”, says
Joseph.
With this issue coming to the forefront more and more, authorities will find
it hard to push the matter anymore. Many courts across the country have also
taken this up on a priority basis. The Madras High Court, for instance, plans
to hear the case in less than a month, on 13 March.
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Source: https://newzhook.com/story/21437
