Mumbai, June 27: The Bombay High Court (HC) has sent notices to various town planning authorities, including the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority(MMRDA) and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), to provide easy access to the disabled at public places. The decision was taken by the division bench of justices Naresh Patil and Girish Kulkarni who heard a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by petitioners Senior Advocate Abha Singh and Interior Designer (Socialite) Neha Jamvwal on Tuesday.

During the hearing, the petitioners citied that many buildings, which have been permitted by these planning authorities, lack facilities for providing easy accessibility to the disabled. To authenticate their claims, the petitioners also visited 15 places including posh five-star hotels, malls, multiplexes and government offices like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)  which lack ramps for wheelchairs and wide entrances and bathroom doors, which are mandatory requirements. They provided the list of 15 such building to the court.

Singh, also a petitioner and lawyer,  said in the PIL that it is mandatory to provide people with disabilities safe and free accessibility to roads, footpaths and public places under 2016 law . She cited the Development Control Regulations(DCR) to support the plea and stated that the planning authority has the power to deny completion certificates to such establishments, which fail to adhere to the DCR rule.

Moreover, the petitioners also appealed the court to direct public and private establishments to install ramps, wheelchair friendly toilets and large entrance doors within three months. And if they fail to comply with the orders, a penalty should be imposed upon them. The petitioner said that before approaching the court, they requested the establishments, private and public both, to install ramps and provide disabled-friendly toilets and other facilities. However, they didn't respond to their plea, therefore, they moved HC.

Jamvwal, one of the petitioners in the case has been suffering from a spinal injury. Therefore, she is forced to use a wheelchair. Experiencing inconvenience every day, she decided to file a petition in Bombay HC with a mission to bring a change. Advocate Singh told the court that when Jamvwal and one of her family members visit theatres or malls, they face a lot of inconvenience due to lack of disabled friendly facilities.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 27, 2018 11:40 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).