Harmonised Guidelines and Standards for Universal Accessibility in India 2021

Subject – Governance

Context – Govt. issues revised plans of universal accessibility

Concept –

The guidelines are a revision of the Harmonised Guidelines and Space Standards for Barrier-Free Built Environment for Persons with Disabilities and Elderly Persons released by the The Central Public Works Department (CPWD), under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in February 2016.
Earlier, the guidelines were for creating a barrier-free environment, but now they are focusing on universal accessibility.
The guidelines say ramps are extremely crucial for providing an accessible mobility option, but it is equally important to understand that ramps have to adhere to given guidelines.
- The guidelines provide the gradient and length of ramps.
The guidelines are not just for persons with disabilities (PwD), but for those involved in planning projects, from the construction of government buildings to master-planning cities.
While making public buildings and transport fully accessible for wheelchair users is covered in the guidelines, other users who may experience temporary problems have also been considered.
Drafted by a team of the IIT-Roorkee and the National Institute of Urban Affairs of the MoHUA, the revised guidelines aim to give a holistic approach.
It calls to incorporate accessibility symbols for PwD, family-friendly facilities and transgender, among the symbols for other user groups.

Central Public Works Department (CPWD)

CPWD is the Central Government authority, charged with the public sector works. It works under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
It deals with buildings, bridges, roads, flyovers, complicated structures such as stadiums, auditoriums, bunkers, laboratories, border roads, hills roads, border fencing, etc.
The authority was established in July 1854, when Lord Dalhousie established a central agency to execute public works and set up Ajmer Provincial Division.