Question : Accessible Toilets for Divyangs

(a) whether the Government has assessed the demand for accessible toilets for divyangs in rural and urban areas and if so, the details thereof;

(b) the number of divyang accessible toilets constructed and made operational in rural and urban areas during the last three years and the current year;

(c) whether the Government has launched San-Sadhan Hackathon under Swachh Bharat Mission for Divyang Accessible Toilets recently and if so, the details thereof along with the aims and objectives behind it;

(d) whether the Government is inviting innovative solutions for economical toilets for use in rural and urban contexts, if so, the details thereof along with the number of students, startups who had actively taken part in it; and

(e) the further steps taken by the Government to provide divyang accessible toilets in a time bound manner?

MINISTER OF STATE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT
(SHRI KRISHANPAL GURJAR)

(a) to (b): Swachh Bharat Mission(SBM) has a strong thrust on equity, and gives attention to the special needs of divyang persons especially in rural areas. The demand for toilets is assessed by the concerned State Govts/UTs Administration. About 12,12,950 divyang accessible toilets have been constructed under SBM (Gramin) in the year 2017-18 to 2019-20. Under SBM (Urban), about 6,562 divyang accessible toilets have been constructed as per the data collected upto March, 2018.
(c) to (e): San-Sadhan Hackathon was organized by Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation and the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) was associated along with Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog to come out with innovative ideas for accessible toilets for Divyangjans. 21 teams participated out of which the winners were given cash awards and piloting opportunities in the field across the country. San-Sadhan Hackathon Award Ceremony and exhibition was organized from 14th to 17th September, 2019. The primary objective of the event was to encourage innovators to create composite and affordable solutions for divyang accessible toilets both in rural and urban areas.


The Government has launched Accessible India Campaign (AIC) on 3rd December, 2015 to create universal accessibility for persons with disabilities in Built Environment (Buildings), Transport System and Information & Communication Technology (ICT) ecosystem. The campaign is an ongoing process and specifies minimum accessibility provisions including accessible toilets required in various types of buildings to ensure accessible environment for all categories of people including persons with disabilities (PwDs).

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