DIMAPUR, DECEMBER 5 (MExN): Nagaland registered one of the worst scores in implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act 2016. A study conducted to assess the implementation of the RPWD Act found that Nagaland scored only 1 out of 19 points and registered a response rate of just 5.3 percent. Nagaland was placed 21st in a list of 24 States and Union Territories. 19 questions were sent out, primarily focusing on the rules, administrative structures, notifications, allocation of funds and reservations of persons with disabilities – these are basically the underpinnings of the implementation of the Act. It has been two years since the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act was passed by both houses of the Parliament on December 16, 2016. In Nagaland, the state government notified the act on September 27 of this year, bringing it into force with immediate effect. The study was conducted by the Disability Rights India Foundation (DIRF) in collaboration with National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) and National Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (NCRPD), with support from Titan Company Limited. The top performing states in terms of the RPWD Act’s implementation included Madhya Pradesh at the top, followed by Odisha, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Meanwhile the bottom five placed states were Haryana, Nagaland, Andhra Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Jammu & Kashmir.
