Lok Sabha Question No. 4060 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-17
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- 4060

TO BE ANSWERED ON- 17/03/2026

## ACCESSIBLE INDIA CAMPAIGN

## 4060. 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, State and year-wise;

(b) the funds allocated and utilized for this campaign, including Tamil Nadu, State-wise;

(c) the percentage of Government buildings that have been made barrier-free and the target timeline for achieving hundred percent accessibility in Tamil Nadu; 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  longterm 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 empanelled sixty (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

|                      |                   | 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                                                                |
|                      |                   | 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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