Nuagaon: Free toilet construction at every home under the Swachh Bharat Mission is yet to take off in several panchayats under Nuagaon block of Nayagarh district.
The residents of tribal dominated hamlets in Jakeda, Gumi and Kaptapalli panchayats under this block have been running from pillar to post seeking their due without any luck so far. The villagers here are forced to defecate in the open as they are yet to have toilets at their homes.
Based on a survey result, in Nuagaon block, 25,963 beneficiaries were registered for free toilets in the first phase out of which 4,990 beneficiaries had received them. In the second phase, that has a deadline to finish 20,973 toilet construction projects by October 2019, the local administration is yet to build over 7,000 toilets.
Worse still, residents of many villages such as Badajiri, Takuda, Luni, Bagiama, Kendubania, Kusabida, Sudungi and Bamuri are yet to be included in the beneficiary list, despite instructions in place to have included them in the earlier two phases.
“Due to the negligence of some of the administrative officers, these villagers are being deprived of getting their toilets on time,” Jakeda Sarpanch Trilochan Sahu rued.
Nuagaon BDO, meanwhile, assured that toilets would be built for these villagers under MGNREGS scheme.
PNN
