Lok Sabha Question No. 5103 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-24
Subject: Accessible India Campaign
Ministry: SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT
Asked by: Thiru Dr. S Jagathratchakan

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 5103

TO BE ANSWERED ON- 24/03/2026

## ACCESSIBLE INDIA CAMPAIGN

## 5103. THIRU DR. S JAGATHRATCHAKAN:

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

- (a) the details of public buildings and infrastructure made accessible under the Accessible India Campaign, year and State-wise;
- (b) the funds allocated and utilized for this campaign, State-wise, including Tamil Nadu;
- (c) the percentage of Government buildings in Tamil Nadu that have been made barrier-free and the target timeline for achieving 100% accessibility; and
- (d)  the  measures  taken  by  the  Government  to  address  delays  or  challenges  in  implementing accessibility projects in Tamil Nadu and other States?"

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT

## (SHRI B L VERMA)

(a)  to  (c):  The  Accessible  India  Campaign  (Sugamya  Bharat  Abhiyan)  was  launched  on  3rd December, 2015 as a participative, cross-sectoral, inter-ministerial and Centre-State collaborative nationwide flagship campaign for enhancing accessibility for Divyangjan under three categories of  built  environment,  transport  systems  and  Information  and  Communication  Technology ecosystems. Since ' works, lands and buildings vested in or in the possession of the State ' is a State subject, and as per Sections 41, 44 and 45 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016,  the  appropriate  Government  is  responsible  for  taking  steps  to  ensure  accessible  built infrastructure,  transport  systems  and  accessible  ICT  for  persons  with  disabilities  and  for conducting regular social audits and assessments.

Accordingly,  detailed  year-wise  physical  progress  of  State  Government  buildings  and  the percentage  of  Government  buildings  made  barrier-free,  including  in  Tamil  Nadu,  are  not maintained centrally. However, as per the available data, a total of 1844 government buildings have  been  made  accessible,  which  includes  1100  Central  Government  buildings  and  744 State/UT Government buildings in respect of which the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities(DEPwD) has released funds to the tune of Rs. 606.24 Crores till date.

Furthermore, funds to the tune of Rs. 7371 Lakhs have been disbursed for creation of barrier free environment in respect of 30 buildings/establishments in the State of Tamil Nadu. The State/UT wise details for the buildings/establishments funded by the Department under AIC is available at

## Annexure.

It is noteworthy that AIC has been subsumed from 01.04.2024 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 for creation of barrier  free  environment  in  existing  government  buildings  and  websites.  There  is  no  separate budgetary  allocation  under  the  CBFE  component  and  funds  are  released  directly  from  the Umbrella scheme SIPDA itself.

(d):  In  order  to  facilitate  the  various  State/UT  Governments  to  address  delays  and  challenges, including the State of Tamil Nadu, the Department has taken the following measures:

- i.      Subsuming  AIC  under  the  CBFE  sub-scheme  under  SIPDA  to  ensure  long  term continuity of accessibility efforts for supporting the various States/UTs  on a demand-driven basis  upon  receipt of complete  and  compliant  proposals  for  creation  of  barrier  free environment in existing government buildings and establishments.
- ii. For the guidance of appropriate government  and  stakeholders, universal design compliance  standards  for  built  environment  along  with  digital  accessibility  standards  have been  notified  under  the  Harmonised  Guidelines  and  relevant  provisions  of  the  Rights  of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

iii.    The Department conducts regular follow ups with the concerned stakeholders including the State/UT Governments to expedite the release of GIA under the CBFE/AIC component of the Umbrella Scheme SIPDA through frequent correspondences and meetings for resolution of emergent matters.

iv.   To further facilitate appropriate Governments and other service providers in undertaking accessibility audits, DEPwD has empanelled accessibility auditors in both built environment and web/digital domains. As on date, DEPwD has empanelledsixty (60) accessibility auditors for the built environment and sixteen (16) digital accessibility auditors for web accessibility. The services of these empanelled access auditors can be directly engaged by the concerned authorities  on  mutually  agreed  terms  and  conditions,  for  conducting  accessibility  audits  of both public and private infrastructures as per requirements.

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## Annexure

| Sl No.   | State/UT/Years    | AIC (Buildings/establishments funded, fund released and completed)   | AIC (Buildings/establishments funded, fund released and completed)   | AIC (Buildings/establishments funded, fund released and completed)   |
|----------|-------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Sl No.   | State/UT/Years    | Total                                                                | Total                                                                | Total                                                                |
| Sl No.   | State/UT/Years    | Physical (No of buildings/establishments)                            | Financial (Amount released in Rs.)                                   | Buildings/establishments Reported to be Retrofitted                  |
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh    | 38                                                                   | 143,633,000                                                          | 25                                                                   |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh | 23                                                                   | 248,915,364                                                          | 22                                                                   |
| 3        | Assam             | 24                                                                   | 132,033,494                                                          | 14                                                                   |
| 4        | Bihar             | 21                                                                   | 92,514,500                                                           | 21                                                                   |
| 5        | Chattisgarh       | 47                                                                   | 276,858,005                                                          | 20                                                                   |
| 6        | Goa               | 30                                                                   | 54,383,495                                                           | 21                                                                   |
| 7        | Gujarat           | 46                                                                   | 59,231,865                                                           | 24                                                                   |
| 8        | Haryana           | 64                                                                   | 159,836,196                                                          | 3                                                                    |
| 9        | Himachal Pradesh  | 11                                                                   | 43,946,885                                                           | 0                                                                    |
| 10       | Jammu and Kashmir | 32                                                                   | 199,529,850                                                          | 7                                                                    |
| 11       | Jharkhand         | 14                                                                   | 116,685,449                                                          | 0                                                                    |
| 12       | Karnataka         | 47                                                                   | 270,864,864                                                          | 0                                                                    |
| 13       | Kerala            | 28                                                                   | 42,998,000                                                           | 0                                                                    |
| 14       | Madhya Pradesh    | 89                                                                   | 304,756,952                                                          | 19                                                                   |
| 15       | Maharashtra       | 142                                                                  | 249,076,500                                                          | 135                                                                  |
| 16       | Manipur           | 28                                                                   | 158,775,631                                                          | 0                                                                    |
| 17       | Meghalaya         | 24                                                                   | 336,752,971                                                          | 17                                                                   |
| 18       | Mizoram           | 33                                                                   | 71,571,809                                                           | 22                                                                   |
| 19       | Nagaland          | 29                                                                   | 92,386,218                                                           | 18                                                                   |
| 20       | Odisha            | 40                                                                   | 197,546,902                                                          | 26                                                                   |
| 21       | Punjab            | 20                                                                   | 198,175,750                                                          | 2                                                                    |

| 22    | Rajasthan                   | 88    | 381,300,000   |   78 |
|-------|-----------------------------|-------|---------------|------|
| 23    | Sikkim                      | 35    | 64,237,113    |   35 |
| 24    | Tamil Nadu                  | 30    | 737,098,620   |   15 |
| 25    | Telangana                   | 16    | 91,923,632    |    7 |
| 26    | Tripura                     | 14    | 262,504,556   |   13 |
| 27    | Uttar Pradesh               | 137   | 537,311,529   |   96 |
| 28    | Uttarakhand                 | 16    | 53,850,250    |    9 |
| 29    | West Bengal                 | 33    | 169,223,516   |   21 |
| 30    | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 25    | 108,090,923   |   23 |
| 31    | Chandigarh                  | 43    | 41,538,159    |   39 |
| 32    | Delhi                       | 18    | 139,377,596   |   12 |
| 33    | Lakshadweep                 | 0     | -             |    0 |
| 34    | Puducherry                  | 29    | 27,315,850    |    0 |
| Total |                             | 1,314 | 6,064,245,444 |  744 |

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