Please also see related posts based on my complaint letter:
'Communication gap' hits disabled students.
Showing posts with label DDA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DDA. Show all posts
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Sunday, July 28, 2013
'Communication gap' hits disabled students
In my last blog I shared my letter to Secretary, DDA and Chairman NHFDC on the MoU with inaccessible PNB bank. Today's 'The Statesman' has picked up the story:
Kinjal Sharma
NEW DELHI, 27 JULY: A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was recently signed between the National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation (NHFDC), set up by the ministry of social justice & empowerment, and Punjab National Bank (PNB), to help students with disabilities get educational loans. However, bank officials appear to be clueless about the agreement leaving the students at the receiving end.
As per the terms of the MoU, educational loans will be made available to persons with disability (PWD)s through particular branches of PNB. The bank has over 275 branches in the NCR but as per the MoU, the PWD students can approach any of the six retail asset branches (RABs) situated at Anand Vihar, Green Park, Gurgoan, Faridabad, Connaught Place and Karol Bagh, to avail educational loans at concessional rates.
However, officials at the six PNB branches appear to be unaware of the MoU. Neha Chauhan from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, approached one of the six branches to avail the loan, but was shocked to note that access to the bank was not at all disabled-friendly and she had to struggle to enter. There she was even more shocked as the bank officials where unaware about any agreement between PNB and NHFDC. She returned home disappointed.
The manager of PNB's Green Park branch, Mr Vijay kumar Setia, said he has no idea about the MoU. "I did not receive any formal guidelines in this regard. I will check with the concerned department. Sometimes, banks receive such information in a particular time span. It may not be received within a week. After getting the orders, further formalities would be completed," said Mr Setia. The branch manager of the Connaught Place branch, Mr Naresh Kumar Jain, also said he has not been informed about the MoU. Several PWD students said the six RABs are either inaccessible or the officials were not aware.
"As everyone is shirking responsibility, it is the PWD students who are facing problems. The NHFDC didn't bother to see whether the RABs were accessible. PNB has not implemented repeated master circulars from Reserve Bank of India (RBI), to make banks accessible. Moreover, RBI does not maintain any record on the number of inaccessible banks and ATMs in India and simultaneously, Department of Disability Affairs has no monitoring initiatives," said Dr Satendra Singh, a doctor with disability, at University College of Medical Sciences (UCMS), Delhi.
"Students with disabilities are caught in this mess and are paying a hefty price. It is high time we strive for our dignity. India has ratified the UN convention whose Article 3 and 9 reserves the right for full and effective participation of PWD as well as accessibility of public places," said Dr Singh.
Source: 'The Statesman' dated 28 July 2013
Delhi
'Communication gap' hits disabled students
- The Statesman
- 28 Jul 2013
Kinjal Sharma
NEW DELHI, 27 JULY: A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was recently signed between the National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation (NHFDC), set up by the ministry of social justice & empowerment, and Punjab National Bank (PNB), to help students with disabilities get educational loans. However, bank officials appear to be clueless about the agreement leaving the students at the receiving end.
As per the terms of the MoU, educational loans will be made available to persons with disability (PWD)s through particular branches of PNB. The bank has over 275 branches in the NCR but as per the MoU, the PWD students can approach any of the six retail asset branches (RABs) situated at Anand Vihar, Green Park, Gurgoan, Faridabad, Connaught Place and Karol Bagh, to avail educational loans at concessional rates.
However, officials at the six PNB branches appear to be unaware of the MoU. Neha Chauhan from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, approached one of the six branches to avail the loan, but was shocked to note that access to the bank was not at all disabled-friendly and she had to struggle to enter. There she was even more shocked as the bank officials where unaware about any agreement between PNB and NHFDC. She returned home disappointed.
The manager of PNB's Green Park branch, Mr Vijay kumar Setia, said he has no idea about the MoU. "I did not receive any formal guidelines in this regard. I will check with the concerned department. Sometimes, banks receive such information in a particular time span. It may not be received within a week. After getting the orders, further formalities would be completed," said Mr Setia. The branch manager of the Connaught Place branch, Mr Naresh Kumar Jain, also said he has not been informed about the MoU. Several PWD students said the six RABs are either inaccessible or the officials were not aware.
"As everyone is shirking responsibility, it is the PWD students who are facing problems. The NHFDC didn't bother to see whether the RABs were accessible. PNB has not implemented repeated master circulars from Reserve Bank of India (RBI), to make banks accessible. Moreover, RBI does not maintain any record on the number of inaccessible banks and ATMs in India and simultaneously, Department of Disability Affairs has no monitoring initiatives," said Dr Satendra Singh, a doctor with disability, at University College of Medical Sciences (UCMS), Delhi.
"Students with disabilities are caught in this mess and are paying a hefty price. It is high time we strive for our dignity. India has ratified the UN convention whose Article 3 and 9 reserves the right for full and effective participation of PWD as well as accessibility of public places," said Dr Singh.
Source: 'The Statesman' dated 28 July 2013
Monday, July 22, 2013
NHFDC’s MoU with inaccessible PNB Branches to harass students with disabilities
 |
University College of Medical Sciences
(University
of Delhi)
& Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital
DElhi – 110 095
|
ENABLING UNIT, EQUAL OPPORTUNITY CELL
EU/EOC/UCMS/122
Dated: 20 July, 2013
Secretary, Chairman-cum-Managing Director
Department of Disability Affairs National
Handicapped Finance and
Ministry
of Social Justice & Empowerment, Development
Corporation (NHFDC)
Sixth Floor, Shastri Bhawan, Red Cross Bhawan, Sector-12
New Delhi-110 001 Faridabad-121 007
Sixth Floor, Shastri Bhawan, Red Cross Bhawan, Sector-12
New Delhi-110 001 Faridabad-121 007
(Through
Principal, UCMS & GTB Hospital)
Subject: NHFDC MoU with inaccessible PNB branches
Reference: D.O. No.NHF/1/2(3)/Edu-loan/2013/85095 dated 3 July 2013 from CMD, NHFDC
Dear Madam,
Let me first put on
record the laudable initiative of NHFDC regarding concessional educational loan
facility through Punjab National Bank (PNB) for students with disabilities.
However, despite the best possible intention the MoU has a serious flaw that it
is made with branches which are inaccessible to persons with disabilities.
Your urgent attention is drawn to
following fallacies:
1. Inaccessible
Retail Asset Branches (RABs): The referenced D.O (Copy attached) has the
list of six RABs in Delhi. I contacted these branches yesterday over phone and
as per their information Faridabad and CP, RAB are on second floor without
provision of lift, hence inaccessible. Gurgaon RAB has 3-4 steps at the
entrance but the bank official said it won’t be a problem to disabled person as
their own Senior Manager is a wheelchair user & he is ‘lifted’ by guards to
accommodate inside. Karol Bag RAB also has few steps at the entrance.
2. Incorrect
information: The contact details mentioned at Green Park RAB are not of a
bank rather it’s a residential number of a lady residing in Central Delhi. They
have been getting numerous calls regarding loan and rightly upset because of
the whole mess. Also, the phone number provided at the Anand Vihar RAB is a fax
number only.
3. Unaware
Officials: Most of the officials like at Karol Bag RAB are unaware of any
MoU with NHFDC and they need to be sensitized regarding the whole procedure of
availing loan.
Against the above
backdrop, I would request you to urgently intervene on the following:
A)
Issue
directives to NHFDC to include only ‘accessible’ PNB RABs under the MoU and ask
PNB to comply at the earliest.
B)
Issue
directives to NHFDC & PNB to include correct information and numbers.
C)
Ask
PNB to make all their branches and ATMs accessible to persons with disabilities
including the Gurgaon RAB where a wheelchair employee is treated with
indignity.
D)
Ask
RBI to have a data of all the accessible and inaccessible Banks/ATMs in India.
Despite various master circulars from RBI, a large number of Banks are
inaccessible. My RTI revealed that RBI had no record of number of inaccessible
bank/ATMs as on 3 Dec 2012. Please find attached the Times of India article covering this story.
I request your goodself to kindly intervene at the
earliest. Any intimation of action taken in this matter will be highly
appreciated.
Thanking
you,
Sincerely,
Enclosure: As above
Sd/-
Dr Satendra Singh, M.D.
Coordinator, Enabling Unit
Equal Opportunity Cell
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