Uttarakhand will become the first State in India to achieve the target set by Government of India by facilitating completion of toilet construction work under Swachchh Bharat mission by August 15, 2016. This was stated during a video conference between Cabinet secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha and Uttarakhand chief secretary Shatrughna Singh for reviewing the status of works in Uttarakhand under the Swachchh Bharat mission here on Thursday.
The cabinet secretary said that by achieving the target under the mission by August 15 this year, the Uttarakhand Government will elicit appreciation for the same. He further assured Singh that monetary encouragement will be given to Uttarakhand State towards achieving the target set by the government. The authorities in the other States through which the Ganga river flows after originating in the state of Uttarakhand -- Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal – have sought additional time period in order to achieve the Swachchh Bharat mission target set by the Government of India, he added.
Responding, the Uttarakhand chief secretary assured the Cabinet secretary that Uttarakhand will also succeed in timely achievement also of the October 2, 2019 target set under the mission by the government of India. This will require a sum of Rs613 crore, said the chief secretary. Responding to Singh, the Cabinet secretary assured him stating that the States which are seen performing well in the Swachchh Bharat mission will not be left to face shortage of funds.
It should be mentioned here that according to the official communication, toilets have to be facilitated for all the people under the Swachchh Bharat mission. The planned efforts will also be aimed at ensuring that open defecation by the public along the banks of the Ganga river is completely eradicated. According to official data, a total of 1,651 Gram Panchayats located within 251 districts in a total of 52 districts are located along the banks of the national river Ganga. In the State of Uttarakhand, where the Ganga emerges as Bhagirathi from the Gaumukh glacier in Uttarkashi District, a total of 132 Gram Panchayats falling within 30 development blocks in seven of the State’s 13 districts are situated along the banks of the Ganga. According to outputs of the baseline survey conducted here, 9987 out of the 2,9405 homes do not have toilet facility. So far, toilet facilities have been constructed in 7880 homes with work continuing on construction of toilets in the remaining homes sans toilets. The State authorities aver that with construction of toilets in all the homes situated in the area in question, by August 15 on the occasion of independence day this year, Uttarakhand’s villages will have achieved the status of being completely free of defecation in the open.