Biswa Bhusan Mohapatra
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Feb 22: Around 88.5 per cent of individual households in rural areas of the state do not have toilets despite the implementation of the total sanitation programme that aims at eradicating the practice of open defecation.
Of the total 90,20,100 rural households, only 10,38,127 have toilet facilities, which is only 11.5 per cent, according to the latest baseline survey data furnished by the rural development department.
Of 10,38,127 households that have toilets, only 5,64,064 have toilets that are functioning, with the remaining 4,74,063 defunct, the survey report said.
As many as 76,59,858 individual households of the 79,81,973 households without toilets are eligible to get benefits under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin), a programme of the ministry of drinking water and sanitation, according to sources in the department.
The department has chalked out a blueprint to cover all households in rural areas by 2020.
According to the plan, 7,00,200 toilets will be constructed in individual households in 2014-15, 12 lakh in 2015-16 and 18 lakh each in the next two years. In 2018-19, 15 lakh rural households will be covered under the sanitation programme , while more than six lakh will be covered in 2019-20.
The state government has also decided to establish 2,490 community sanitary complexes in rural pockets of the state.
The state government’s performance in the current financial year with regard to coverage of individual household with toilets has been abysmally low.
As on January 2015, the government has constructed only 84,086 toilets against the target of 7,00,200. Similarly, only nine community sanitary complexes have been constructed against the target of 181.
However, department sources said the government has engaged 54 district-level consultants and a coordinator in each block to expedite the process.
It also provided training to 500 community-led total sanitation (CLTS) motivators and another 1,500 will be trained by September 2015.
