Disabilities court fines 96 establishments Rs 50k each for non-compliance with online norms | India News
NEW DELHI: The Court of the Chief Commissioner of Persons with Disabilities (CCPD) has imposed a penalty of Rs 50,000 each on 96 establishments, including Standardisation Testing and Qualify Certification (STQC) Directorate of the ministry of electronics & information technology, for failing, as of mid-June, to comply with accessibility standards for websites, mobile applications and other digital platforms.The list includes central ministries, their departments, and several private establishments that are among 155 establishments which were slapped with a fine of Rs 10,000 in Feb, with a warning of higher penalty in case of non-compliance.The court highlighted that 95 establishments (minus STQC) that now face higher penalties neither submitted an audit report nor appointed an Integrated Audit & Assurance Professional (IAAP)-certified auditor, and did not even report initiating the process of appointment of auditors as of June 17.The ministries on the list include cooperation, civil aviation, corporate affairs, drinking water and sanitation, earth sciences, food processing, labour and employment, ports, shipping and waterways, railways, road, transport and highways, skill development and entrepreneurship, statistics and programme implementation, steel, panchayati raj, information and broadcasting and Ayush.In its June-20 order, the CCPD gave the establishments seven days to deposit the penalty in the National Fund for Persons with Disabilities and also notified them that a fresh review of compliance filed by organisations since the June-20 order will be carried out in July. Establishments that continue to remain non-compliant will face higher fine, which may be as high as Rs 5 lakh, it said.The CCPD has asked establishments, including ministries, that have claimed they were wrongly fined to furnish evidence of compliance.The CCPDhad sought access to audit reports and asked if ‘access auditors’ had been appointed as per law for scrutinising and verifying whether the websites, portals and apps comply with accessibility standards aimed at enabling blind, deaf and deaf-blind persons to access the online mode.The court expressed its “dismay and shock” over the fact that STQC, on which all govt establishments rely for accessibility audit, is itself “not compliant, and is furnishing a lame excuse, which is a stock response of many other non-compliant establishments”. The CCPD, in its order, noted that STQC had informed the court that as its previous website was not accessible, it was redesigning the website to make the same compliant with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.Besides taking action against the 96 establishments, the CCPD noted that 20 establishments had reported that the process of appointing an access auditor was underway, 63 establishments said they had appointed access auditors but did not submit an audit report and 18 submitted their access audit reports.While five establishments that deposited the penalty of Rs 10,000 reported appointing an auditor, three did not report any status on appointing an auditor and two were in the process of appointing one. However, none of the establishments that paid penalties submitted the access audit reports.
