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UP minister directs making public places disabled-friendly
The minister said that the meeting of the State Advisory Board should be held compulsorily every six months and the presence of competent level officers should be ensured
UP minister of state (independent charge) for empowerment of persons with disabilities and backward classes welfare, Narendra Kashyap, gave several important instructions while chairing the sixth meeting of the Uttar Pradesh State Advisory Board, held at Yojana Bhawan, on Tuesday.
Kashyap directed that public buildings, places, parks, accessible toilets etc. in municipal areas be made disabled friendly on a priority basis. Also, the driver-conductor should help disabled people board and alight from buses of Uttar Pradesh State Roadways Transport Corporation. Complaints, if any, will entail strict action against the culprits. He also directed the Corporation to consider reserving more than four seats on buses along routes with a large number of disabled people.
The minister said that the meeting of the State Advisory Board should be held compulsorily every six months and the presence of competent level officers should be ensured. The IT and electronics department was directed to make all government websites Divyangjan-friendly. The basic education department was directed to focus on the appointment of special teachers so that Divyang students can get quality education.
The secondary and higher education department was directed to ensure free admission and facilities to Divyang students as per reservation. Out of 278 buildings of the housing and urban planning department, 271 buildings have been made Divyangjan friendly. The minister also directed to make the remaining buildings accessible soon.
Speaking to the press, after the meeting, Kashyap said, “Under the third installment of the financial year 2024-25, pension has been sent to 10.41 lakh Divyangjans. Under the Leprosy Pension Scheme, funds were sent to 11,671 beneficiaries. 10,229 devices have been distributed under the Artificial Limbs and Assistive Devices Scheme. 165 Divyangjans have received benefits under the Surgical Grant Scheme. Persons with 40 percent or more disability are being given the facility of free travel in UPSRTC buses, the expenditure of which is being borne by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.”
“Primary education is being provided to visually impaired, hearing impaired and mentally retarded children aged 3-7 years through 18 Bachpan Day-Care Centers in the state. 1403 students are studying in 16 special schools and 171 students in 5 integrated special schools. Under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016, the provision of 4 percent reservation for promotion in government services has also been implemented effectively,” added Kashyap.
Minister Kashyap said that Divyangjan should be given priority in the shops allotted by the Urban Development Department, Development Authorities and Industrial Areas. All the concerned departments were directed to submit a report on compliance with the provisions of 5% reservation under Section 37 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
As per information provided by the minister, so far 15,50,496 UID cards have been issued in the state. State Commissioner Prof. Himanshu Shekhar Jha received 503 complaints in the year 2024-25 and 91 complaints in 2025-26 (till now). Action has been completed on 58 complaints of the year 2025-26, 33 are pending. Under Section 79 of the Act, all the District Magistrates have been designated as ‘Additional Commissioner’ and District Disabled Empowerment Officers as ‘Assistant Commissioner’.
Under the chairmanship of the State Commissioner, a committee has been constituted to resolve the problems of disabled people in various districts.
Mobile courts were organized for settlement. A total of 677 complaints were promptly resolved in Meerut, Sultanpur, Amethi, Ayodhya, Barabanki, Shravasti, Gonda, Bahraich and Balrampur.
The Minister said that the government’s goal is that no Divyangjan of the state should be deprived of the benefits of the schemes.
