Of the 15.51 lakh households in Uttarakhand under the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA), 10.41 lakh have been provided with toilets. The State’s toilet coverage under the programme is about 67 per cent. Work on construction of toilets for the remaining 5,09,830 families will be facilitated through NBA and MNREGA funds, said Additional Secretary Sowjanya while addressing the media here on Tuesday.
She informed that the NBA will cover BPl families and also APl families that are SC/ST, headed by women, landless, handicapped or marginal farmers. In the mountainous regions, the BPl and marked APl families will be provided Rs5,100 under NBA and Rs5,400 under MNREGA each for construction of toilets while in the plains the beneficiaries will be provided Rs4,600 under NBA and Rs5,400 under MNREGA. The APl families not covered under NBA in the mountainous areas and plains will be provided Rs10,000 each for toilet construction. It is expected that toilets for about one lakh families will be constructed each year till the target is achieved. For construction of toilets in schools and Anganwadi, Rs38,500 and Rs10,000 will be provided respectively in the mountainous regions and Rs35,000 and Rs8,000 respectively in the plains. For disposal of waste and dirty water, Rs seven lakh will be provided for each Gram Panchayat with 150 families, Rs12 lakh for Gram Panchayat with 300 families, Rs15 lakh for Gram Panchayat with 500 families and Rs20 lakh for Gram Panchayat with more than 500 families under NBA. Regarding problems faced in toilet construction in Uttarakhand, she said, “Problems are faced in the remote mountainous areas where it is difficult for to transport construction material. Problems will also be faced in areas experiencing water scarcity.”
Additionally a sanitation awareness campaign will be held across the State from September 25 to October 23 to make execution of the Rashtriya Swachhata Abhiyan (RSA) more effective. The campaign will be inaugurated at the Rajiv Gandhi Navodaya Vidyalaya, Nanurkheda on September 25. Various activities including rallies and competitions for school children will be held at the district, development block and Gram Panchayat levels to raise awareness on sanitation, RSA and NBA.