The Centre has allocated about Rs32 crore to Delhi Government for construction of household and public toilets under the Swachchh Bharat Mission for the fiscal 2014-15. The target for Delhi is to construct 1,25,298 toilets in individual houses and 11,138 public facilities, besides putting in place solid waste management projects in three areas of the capital.
The allocation of the funds for Delhi in the total mission period is Rs1,684.38 crore, of which the central share is Rs209.6 crore. “Though the central funds allocated for 2014-15 was Rs24.24 crore, however on a request received from the Delhi Government on March 27 this year, Rs8 crore has been released to them as per their demand,” said a senior Urban Development Ministry official.
The official said the Ministry acted upon the Delhi government’s request in the least possible time. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on August 15 given a call to achieve the objective of clean India (Swachchh Bharat) by 2019, the 150th year of the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, through the Swachchh Bharat Mission. The urban component of the mission had been proposed to be implemented over a period of five years starting from October 2, 2014 in all 4,041 statutory towns.
The Centre has released funds to the tune of Rs860 crore to 28 States/UTs as first installment towards the Mission. The funds will be used for construction of individual household toilets, community toilets and solid waste management. The total estimated cost of the programme is Rs62,009 crore, of which central assistance will be of Rs14,623 crore.
The urban component includes elimination of open defecation, conversion of insanitary toilets to pour-flush toilets, eradication of manual scavenging, municipal solid waste management and bringing about a behavioural change in people regarding healthy sanitation practices.