Post News Network
Cuttack, August 27: Construction of toilets in individual households under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in the rural pockets of the district has become a money minting business for many officials. Sarpanchs, panchayats and rural water supply and sanitation (RWSS) department officials are involved in siphoning off the money meant for the scheme.
The financial assistance, provided by the government to individual households for toilets, are distributed among the beneficiaries of the scheme, sarpanchs, panchayat officials and RWSS staff without the construction of any sanitary facility. Sources said government officials in cahoots with village sarpanchs and panchayat-level officials construct a small hut using mud and bricks near the residence of a beneficiary and show it as a toilet on official documents to pocket the financial assistance.
“The name and other details of a beneficiary are written on the wall of the small hut as per the official guidelines. The officials of RWSS and panchayats ask the beneficiary to pose for a photograph near the hut, which is now a ‘toilet’ in the government records,” said a source familiar with the implementation and the alleged corruption in the scheme.
Moreover, government officials also mention existing toilets of some households as newly-constructed ones to pocket the money. Of course, the beneficiaries usually get a share from the misappropriated money, sources said.
The Central government had decided to provide financial assistances to rural households for the construction of toilets under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan from the 2014-15 fiscal. At present `12,000 is offered to each beneficiary of the scheme.
District administration sources said 1,450 rural households were included in the sanitation scheme for the 2014-15 fiscal and 44,757 households for the 2015-16 fiscal. “We have planned to provide toilets to 1.27 lakh households in the current fiscal,” said an official of the district administration.
Commenting on the irregularities, RWSS department executive engineer Sanjay Kumar Samal said, “We are sanctioning money to the blocks of the district for the scheme. Block development officers should look into the issue.” District rural development agency project director Trilochan Pradhan claimed that no one has lodged a complaint in connection with the irregularities.
