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PWD Act 1995 - The Central Co-ordination Committee

The Central Co-ordination Committee.-
1. The Central Government shall by notification constitute a body to be known as the Central Co-ordination Committee to exercise the powers conferred on, and to perform the functions assigned to it, under this Act.
2. The Central Co-ordination Committee shall consist of-
  1. the Minister in-charge of the Department of Welfare in the Central Government, Chairperson, ex officio;
  2. the Minister of State in-charge of the Department of Welfare in the Central Government, Vice-Chairperson, ex officio;
  3. Secretaries to the Government of India in-charge of the Department of Welfare, Education, Woman and Child Development, Expenditure, Personnel, Training and Public Grievances, Health, Rural Development, Industrial Development, Urban Affairs and Employment, Science and Technology, Legal Affairs, Public Enterprises, Members, ex officio;
  4. Chief Commissioner, Member, ex officio;
  5. Chairman Railway Board, Member, ex officio;
  6. Director-General of Labour , Employment and Training , Member, ex officio;
  7. Director, National Council for Education Research and Training, Member, ex officio;
  8. three Members of Parliament, of whom two shall be elected by the House of the People and one by the Council of States, Members;
  9. three persons to be nominated by the Central Government to represent the interests, which in the opinion of that Government ought to be represented, Members;
  10. Directors of the-
    1. National Institute for the Visually Handicapped, Dehradun;
    2. National Institute for the Mentally Handicapped, Secunderabad;
    3. National Institute for the Orthopaedically Handicapped, Calcutta;
    4. Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped, Bombay;
      Members, ex officio
  11. four Members to be nominated by the Central Government by rotation to represent the States and the Union territories in such manner as may be prescribed by the Central Government:
    Provided that no appointment under this clause shall be made except on the recommendation of the State Government or, as the case may be, the Union territory;
  12. five persons as far as practicable, being persons with disabilities, to represent non-governmental organisations or associations which are concerned with disabilities, to be nominated by the Central Government, one from each area of disability, Members:
    Provided that while nominating persons under this clause, the Central Government shall nominate at least one woman and one person belonging to Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes;
  13. Joint Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Welfare dealing with the welfare of the handicapped, Member-Secretary, ex officio,
3. The office of the Member of the Central Co-ordination Committee shall not disqualify its holder for being chosen as or being a Member of either House of Parliament.
Term of office of Members.-
1. Save as otherwise provided by or under this Act a Member of a Central Co-ordination Committee nominated under Cl.(i) or Cl.(l) of sub-section (2) of Sec.3 shall hold office for a term of three years from the date of his nomination.
  Provided that such a Member shall, not withstanding the expiration of his term, continue to hold office until his successor enters upon his office.
2. The term of office of an ex officio Member shall come to an end as soon as he ceases to hold office by virtue of which he was so nominated.
3. The Central Government may if it thinks fit remove any Member nominated under Cl.(i) or Cl.(l) of sub-section (2) of Sec.3 before the expiry of his term of office after giving him a reasonable oppurtunity of showing cause against the same.
4. A Member nominated under Cl.(i) or Cl.(l) of sub-section (2) of Sec.3 may at any time resign his office by writing under his hand addressed to the Central Government and the seat of the said Member shall thereupon become vacant.
5. A casual vacancy in the Central Co-ordination Committee shall be filled by a fresh nomination and the person nominated to fill the vacancy shall hold office only for the remainder of the term for which the Member in whose place he was so nominated.
6. Member nominated under Cl.(i) or Cl.(l) of sub-section (2) of Sec.3 shall be eligible for re-nomination.
7. Member nominated under Cl.(i) or Cl.(l) of sub-section (2) of Sec.3 shall receive such allowances as may be prescribed by the Central Government.
Disqualifications.-
1. No person shall be a member of the Central Co-ordination Committee, who-
  1. is, or at any time has been, adjudged insolvent or has suspended payment of his debts or has compounded with his creditors, or
  2. is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent Court, or
  3. is or has been convicted of an offence which, in the opinion of the Central Government, involves moral turpitude, or
  4. is or at any time has been convicted of an offence under this Act, or
  5. has so abused in the opinion of the Central Government his position as a Member as to render his continuance in the Central Co-ordination Committee detrimental to the interests of the general public.
2. No order of removal shall be made by the Central Government under this section unless the member concerned has been given a reasonable opportunity of showing cause against the same.
3. Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) or sub-section (6) of Sec.4, a Member who has been removed under this section shall not be eligible for re-nomination as a Member.
Vacation of seats by Members.-If a Member of the Central Co-ordination Committee becomes subject to any of the disqualifications specified in Sec.5 his seat shall become vacant.
Meetings of the Central Co-ordination Committee.-The Central Co-ordination Committee shall meet at least once in every six months and shall observe such rules of procedure in regard to the transaction of business at its meetings as may be prescribed by the Central Government.
Functions of the Central Co-ordination Committee.-
1. Subject to the provisions of this Act, the function of the Central Co-ordination Committee shall be to serve as the national focal point on disability matters and facilitate the continuous evolution of a comprehensive policy towards solving the problems faced by persons with disabilities.
2. In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the Central Co-ordination Committee may perform all or any of the following functions, namely:-
  1. review and co-ordinate the activities of all the Departments of the Government and other Governmental and non-governmental Organisations which are dealing with matters relating to persons with disabilities;
  2. develop a national policy to address issues faced by persons with disabilities;
  3. advise the Central Government on the formulation of policies, programmes, legislation and projects with respect to disability;
  4. take up the cause of persons with disabilities with the concerned authorities and the international organisations with a view to provide for schemes and projects for the disabled in the national plans and other programmes and policies evolved by the international agencies;
  5. review in consultation with the donor agencies their funding policies from the perspective of their impact on persons with disabilities;
  6. take such other steps to ensure barrier free environment in public places, work places, public utilities, schools and other institutions;
  7. monitor and evaluate the impact of policies and programmes designed for achieving equality and full participation of persons with disabilities;
  8. to perform such other functions as may be prescribed by the Central Government.
Central Executive Committee.-
1. The Central Government shall constitute a Committee to be known as the Central Co-ordination Committee to perform the functions assigned to it under this Act.
2. The Central Co-ordination Committee shall consist of-
  1. the Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Welfare, Chairperson, ex officio;
  2. the Chief Commissioner, Member, ex officio;
  3. the Director-General for Health Services, Member, ex officio;
  4. the Director-General, Employment and Training, Member, ex officio;
  5. six persons not below the rank of a Joint Secretary to the Government of India, to represent the Ministries or Departments of Rural Development, Education, Welfare, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension and Urban Affairs and Employment, Science and Technology, Members, ex officio;
  6. the Financial Advisor, Ministry of Welfare in the Central Government, Member, ex officio;
  7. Advisor (Tariff) Railway Board, Member, ex officio;
  8. four members to be nominated by the Central Government by rotation to represent the State Governments the Union territories in such a manner as may be prescribed by the Central Government;
  9. one person to be nominated by the Central Government to represent the interest, which in the opinion of the Central Government ought to be represented, Member;
  10. five persons, as far as practicable being persons with disabilities, to represent non-governmental organisations or associations which are concerned with disabilities, to be nominated by the Central Government, one from each area of disability, Members;
    Provided that while nominating persons under this clause, the Central Government shall nominate at least one woman and one person belonging to Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes;
  11. Joint Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Welfare dealing with the welfare of the handicapped, Member-Secretary, ex officio
3. Member nominated under Cl.(i) or Cl.(j) of sub-section (2) shall receive such allowances as may be prescribed by the Central Government.
4. A Member nominated under Cl.(i) or Cl.(j) of sub-section (2) may at any time resign his office by writing under his hand addressed to the Central Government and the seat of the said Member shall thereupon become vacant.
Functions of the Central Executive Committee.-
1. The Central Executive Committee shall be the executive body of the Central Co-ordination Committee and shall be responsible for carrying out the decisions of the Central Co-ordination Committee.
2. Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section(1), the Central Executive Committee shall also perform such other functions as may be delegated to it by the Central Co-ordination Committee.
Meetings of the Central Executive Committee.- The Central Executive Committee shall meet at least once in every three months and shall observe such rules of procedure in regard to the transaction of business at its meetings as may be prescribed by the Central Government.
Comment Section 11 deals with meetings of the Central Executive Committee at least once in three months.
Temporary association of persons with Central Executive Committee for particular purposes.-
1. The Central Co-ordination Committee may associate with itself in such shall and for such purposes as may be prescribed by the Central Government any person whose assistance or advice it may desire to obtain in performing any of its functions under this Act.
2. A person associated with the Central Executive Committee under sub-section (1) for any purpose shall have the right to take part in the discussions of the Central Executive Committee relevant to that purpose, but shall not have a right to vote at a meeting of the said Committee, and shall not be a member for any other purpose.
3. A person associated with the said Committee under sub-section (1) for any purpose shall be paid such fees and allowances, for attending its meetings and for attending to any other work of the said Committee; as may be prescribed by the Central Government.

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