Home WORLD NEWS Nearly 828 public buildings in states yet to meet ‘Accessible India’ target

Nearly 828 public buildings in states yet to meet ‘Accessible India’ target

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NEW DELHI: With states and Union territories still in the process of completing work on making fully accessible nearly 828 public buildings out of the 1,423 selected to be a model for others to learn under the

Accessible India Campaign

with a target date of June 14 this year, the

Central Advisory Board on Disability

that met on Friday has set a final deadline for submission of utilisation certificates for these projects as December.

It is learnt that out of around 1,100 central government buildings shortlisted and approved under AIC, 1,030 have so far been made fully accessible. As far as states/UTs go, out of the 1,423 buildings selected only 595 have been made fully accessible and the rest are in different stages of completion.

In keeping with the Rights of Persons with

Disability Act

2016 which mandates that all public buildings must be made accessible within five years of its implementation, the states/UTs have been asked by the

CAB

to assess all public buildings by July 31 and submit proposals seeking extension of time, if needed, to the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) with justification and detailed action plan.

The AIC launched on December 3, 2015 had set out broad targets for five years to make public buildings, transport and the ICT ecosystem accessible. The campaign was extended in 2020 to June 14, 2022 as states and central ministries were yet to meet targets.

The CAB on Friday is learnt to have reviewed the campaign and the status of targets by states and ministries. According to sources, while the timeframe for AIC would not be extended any further, all that has been sanctioned and mandated by the campaign will have to be completed within a stipulated time and only then will the final installment of the grants be released. All projects in the future will be executed under the scheme pertaining to barrier free access of the

RPwD Act

so that there is continuity, sources said.

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