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RTI for Persons with Disabilities — Access, Rights, and Schemes

RTI for disability — RTI Wiki

⚠️ DPDP Rules, 2025 (14 Nov 2025) amended Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act — public-interest override now under Section 8(2). Read the note →

· 2026/04/19 05:02 · 0 Comments

In one line. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD) recognises 21 benchmark disabilities and entitles persons with disabilities (PwD) to reservation, accessibility, reasonable accommodation, and benefits. RTI extracts the records that close the gap between entitlement and delivery.

Part of the audience pillars alongside RTI for women, RTI for senior citizens, and RTI for tribal citizens.

Common problems where RTI helps

  • UDID (Unique Disability Identity) card pending indefinitely.
  • Disability certificate issuing-authority unresponsive.
  • 4% reservation in government jobs under Section 34 RPwD not honoured.
  • 5% reservation in government-funded higher education under Section 32.
  • Accessibility audit of public buildings / transport stalled.
  • Reasonable accommodation denied at workplace or exam centre.
  • Aids and assistive devices (ADIP) not released.
  • PwD pension (IGNDPS) — see NSAP pension RTI.

RTI recipes for PwD

UDID and certification

  • UDID portal status — CPIO, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD).
  • District Medical Board constitution and sitting frequency — DHS office.
  • Backlog of pending certificates at the issuing hospital.

Reservation and workplace

  • 4% roster register under Section 34 RPwD — ministerial / department level.
  • Special Recruitment Drive for PwD — notifications and utilisation.
  • Grievance Redressal Officer (GRO) — every establishment with ≥20 employees must designate one; RTI extracts the notification.
  • Equal Opportunity Policy (EOP) — mandatory for every “establishment” under Section 21; the policy document is disclosable.

Education

  • 5% reservation in HEIs — seat-matrix, allotment, reasonable-accommodation record.
  • Scribe / extra-time at exams — circulars by CBSE / UPSC / SSC.
  • Special schools / inclusive education — district-level scheme data.
  • Scholarships for PwD — National Trust, DEPwD, state schemes.

Accessibility

  • Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) — audit report of public buildings in your city.
  • Transport accessibility — railways (CCTV-accessible coach allocations), metro-station lifts / tactile, city bus retrofit plan.
  • Airport accessibility — DGCA norms; RTI extracts compliance report.
  • Website accessibilityW3C WCAG 2.1 compliance for government websites (CIC orders direct compliance).

Aids and assistive devices

  • ADIP / Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana (for seniors overlap) — beneficiary list and distribution camp records.
  • National Trust — Niramaya / Disha / Vikas — beneficiary enrolment records.

Sample RTI — for delayed UDID card

To,
The Central Public Information Officer,
Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities,
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment,
New Delhi / [State Social Welfare Department]

Subject: Information under Section 6(1) of the RTI Act, 2005, regarding my UDID application.

Sir/Madam,

I, [Name], UDID Application No. ________, district ________, submit:

1. Current status of my UDID application in the central portal.
2. District Medical Board constitution, notified members, and its sitting dates in the last 12 months.
3. Average time-to-issue for UDID at my issuing hospital.
4. Number of applications pending at each stage (certification / specialist review / issuance).
5. If my application is held up, the officer responsible and the next actionable step.
6. Guidelines for reasonable accommodation during the medical-board appearance.
7. Grievance officer and First Appellate Authority contact.

I declare I am an Indian citizen. IPO enclosed.

Yours faithfully,
[Signature, Date, Place]
  • Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 — Sections 3 (non-discrimination), 21 (EOP), 23 (Maintenance of records), 32 (Higher-education reservation), 34 (Government-job reservation), 40-45 (Accessibility).
  • RPwD Rules, 2017 — district-level implementation framework.
  • Accessible India Campaign guidelines.
  • Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 — for mental-illness-based disabilities.

Pro tips

  • Section 7(1) proviso (life / liberty) — applies to many PwD situations (denial of critical aids); 48-hour reply.
  • Parallel grievance at pgportal.gov.in under DEPwD section.
  • State Commissioner for PwD has quasi-judicial powers under Section 80; file parallel complaint.
  • Reasonable accommodation denial — ICC-equivalent under RPwD is the GRO; escalation to Chief Commissioner.

FAQs

Q1. Is UDID data personal?
Applicant's own data is disclosable to applicant; aggregated stats are public.

Q2. Is 4% reservation mandatory for private sector?
Government sector — yes. Private sector — equal opportunity policy, not mandatory reservation, under Section 21.

Q3. What about temporary disabilities?
Temporary disabilities are not covered under UDID but may qualify for reasonable accommodation at workplace.

Q4. What's the timeline for a Disability Certificate?
RPwD Rules 2017 prescribe a month from application to certificate; exceeding that is a complaint ground.

Sources

  • Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016
  • RPwD Rules, 2017
  • Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) framework
  • UNCRPD (ratified by India, 2007)

Last reviewed: 21 April 2026.

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