Lok Sabha Question No. 4838 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-04-01
Subject: Accessible India Campaign
Ministry: SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT
Asked by: Shri Asaduddin Owaisi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT DEPARTMENT OF EMPOWERMENT OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

## LOK SABHA

4838. Shri Asaduddin Owaisi:

Will the Minister of SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) the current status of the Accessible India Campaign launched in 2015 to make Government buildings fully accessible to Persons with Disabilities (PwDs);
- (b) the number of Government buildings that have been retrofitted with PwD-friendly features so far, State-wise and year-wise;
- (c) whether the Government has met its target of making at least fifty percent of all Government buildings in the National capital and State capitals accessible by June 2022;
- (d) if not, the reasons for the delay and the revised timeline for achieving this target; and
- (e) the monitoring mechanism in place to ensure that retrofitting works comply with harmonized guidelines for universal accessibility?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT

(SHRI B. L. VERMA)

(a) to (d) Sir,  the  Accessible  India  Campaign  (AIC)  was  launched  in  December 2015  to  help create  universal  accessibility  for  Persons  with  Disabilities  (PwDs)  in  built  environments, transportation  systems,  and  Information  &  Communication  technology  ecosystems.  Since ' Works, lands and buildings are vested in or in the possession of the State ' is a State subject, the details of buildings of States/Union Territories are not being maintained centrally.  However, as per the available data, a total of 1748 government buildings have been made accessible, which includes  1100  Central  Government  buildings  and  648  State/UT  Government  buildings.  The State-wise details pertaining to the State/UT Government buildings made accessible are available at Annexure.

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4838

TO BE ANSWERED ON 01/04/2025

## ACCESSIBLE INDIA CAMPAIGN

It  is  noteworthy  that  post  March  31,  2024  AIC  has  been  subsumed  under  the "Scheme  for Creation of Barrier Free Environment(CBFE) "  sub-scheme under  SIPDA to ensure long-term continuity  of  ongoing  accessibility  efforts  wherein  grants  are  released  only  on  demand  basis received from  different States/UTs  for creation of barrier free environment  in existing government buildings and websites.

(e) The following monitoring mechanisms are in place to ensure compliance with harmonized guidelines for universal accessibility:

i.  Sugamya  Bharat  App:  Launched  on  March  2,  2021,  this  crowdsourcing  mobile  application allows  citizens  to  report  accessibility  issues  in  buildings,  transportation,  and  ICT  systems  for resolution by appropriate authorities.

ii.  Screening Committee: A committee consisting of Joint Secretary (SIPDA), Director/Deputy Secretary (SIPDA), and two experts in the field of disability examines proposals for release of Grant-in-Aid(GIA) under the Barrier Free and Accessible India component.

iii.  Empaneled Accessibility Auditors: 59 accessibility auditors for the Built Environment have been empaneled with the Department and can be engaged by different departments to conduct accessibility assessments of public infrastructure. In addition, 10 web accessibility auditors have also  been  empaneled  for  engagement  by  state  players  for  conducting  access  audits  of  the Information and Communication Technology(ICT) infrastructure.

iv.  Regular  follow  ups:  The  Department  conducts  regular  follow  ups  with  the  concerned stakeholders to expedite the release of GIA under the Creation of Barrier Free(CBFE)/Accessible India Campaign(AIC) component of the Umbrella Scheme SIPDA

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Annexure

| S.No.   | States/UT                   |   Buildings made accessible under AIC |   Amount released (In Rs. Lakhs) |
|---------|-----------------------------|---------------------------------------|----------------------------------|
| 1       | Andhra Pradesh              |                                    25 |                          1436.33 |
| 2       | Arunachal Pradesh           |                                     0 |                          1523.69 |
| 3       | Assam                       |                                    12 |                          1320.33 |
| 4       | Bihar                       |                                    21 |                           925.14 |
| 5       | Chhattisgarh                |                                    21 |                          2768.58 |
| 6       | Goa                         |                                     0 |                           543.83 |
| 7       | Gujarat                     |                                    24 |                           592.31 |
| 8       | Haryana                     |                                     3 |                          1598.36 |
| 9       | Himachal Pradesh            |                                     0 |                           439.46 |
| 10      | Jammu &Kashmir              |                                     7 |                          1995.29 |
| 11      | Jharkhand                   |                                     0 |                          1166.85 |
| 12      | Karnataka                   |                                     0 |                          2708.64 |
| 13      | Kerala                      |                                     0 |                           429.98 |
| 14      | Madhya Pradesh              |                                     0 |                          3047.56 |
| 15      | Maharashtra                 |                                   135 |                          2490.76 |
| 16      | Manipur                     |                                     0 |                          1587.75 |
| 17      | Meghalaya                   |                                    17 |                          3367.52 |
| 18      | Mizoram                     |                                    22 |                           715.71 |
| 19      | Nagaland                    |                                    10 |                           923.86 |
| 20      | Odisha                      |                                    26 |                          1975.46 |
| 21      | Punjab                      |                                     2 |                          1981.75 |
| 22      | Rajasthan                   |                                    78 |                          3813    |
| 23      | Sikkim                      |                                    30 |                           578.13 |
| 24      | Tamil Nadu                  |                                    15 |                          4608.93 |
| 25      | Telangana                   |                                     7 |                           919.23 |
| 26      | Tripura                     |                                     0 |                          2625.04 |
| 27      | Uttarakhand                 |                                     9 |                           538.5  |
| 28      | Uttar Pradesh               |                                    89 |                          4907    |
| 29      | West Bengal                 |                                    21 |                          1692.23 |
| 30      | Andaman and Nicobar Islands |                                    23 |                          1080.9  |
| 31      | Chandigarh                  |                                    39 |                           415.38 |
| 32      | Delhi                       |                                    12 |                          1393.77 |
| 33      | Puducherry                  |                                     0 |                           273.15 |
| Total   |                             |                                   648 |                         56384.4  |

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