Prayagraj, March 16 The Allahabad High Court has directed authorities in Uttar Pradesh to ensure adequate parking spaces and access to common facilities, including lifts, pavements, playgrounds, community centers, and gyms, for persons with disabilities in residential complexes.
A division bench of Justices Atul Sreedharan and Siddharth Nandan said accessibility to such facilities is a fundamental right of persons with disabilities.
"It is a fundamental right of a person with disability to have the right to accessibility for facilities which are common in a building or structure," the court said.
The bench also directed the state government to ensure mandatory compliance with the Accessibility Rules at the stage of granting permission to construct buildings and before issuing completion certificates.
It said development authorities in Uttar Pradesh must incorporate guidelines to ensure persons with disabilities are not placed in an inequitable position in residential complexes.
The court held that sanctioned building plans for such community living spaces should provide adequate parking facilities for persons with disabilities.
The court was hearing a writ petition filed by M/s SCC Builders Private Limited challenging an order passed under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, in connection with the parking space of an allottee at SCC Sapphire, a residential project in Ghaziabad.
The allottee, who is 90 per cent disabled, had approached the Ghaziabad Development Authority alleging that eight years after purchasing a flat, her parking space had been divided by the builder.
The state commissioner for persons with disabilities found the complaint valid and held that the builder’s action hindered the complainant’s access to the lift.
The builder challenged the findings, claiming the proceedings were ex parte.
However, the court found that a representative of the company had been present during the proceedings and also noted that the parking space had been divided without the consent of the original allottee.
The bench declined to interfere with the findings and reiterated that the right to accessibility is broad enough to include common facilities in residential complexes.
Disposing of the petition, the court, in its order dated February 26, said, "It is a fundamental right of a person with disability (PWD) to have the right to accessibility for facilities which are common in a building or structure.”