A month after the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) released revised accessibility guidelines, disability rights activists have raised concerns over the changes, including handrail heights, from the 2016 version, as well as sought clarity from the government on which version would be applicable for auditing public buildings.
The Harmonised Guidelines and Standards for Universal Accessibility in India 2021, which carries the publication date of “December 2021”, was shared by the CPWD on its website and social media on December 29, 2021. The document that was drafted by a team of the Indian Institute of Technology-Roorkee and the National Institute of Urban Affairs was the revised version of the 2016 guidelines issued by the CPWD.
