With as many as 60.53 lakh individual household toilets constructed and 4.7 lakh seats of community or public toilets under construction under the Swachchh Bharat Mission (Urban), Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (HUA) for its remarkable speed of construction on the occasion of World Toilet day.
Hailing the HUA Ministry, Modi said India is proud of the remarkable speed with which sanitation coverage has increased in the last four years and reiterated his Government's commitment to enhancing sanitation facilities. The Prime Minister said the drive for a cleaner India and ensuring better sanitation facilities is in fact a people's movement.
Modi took to Twitter to thank women and youth for taking the lead in the sanitation drive. World Toilet Day, celebrated on November 19, is about taking action to ensure that everyone has a safe toilet by 2030.
"Today, on World Toilet Day, we reiterate our commitment towards enhancing cleanliness and sanitation facilities across the nation. We in India take pride at the remarkable speed with which sanitation cover has increased in the last four years," he wrote. He said it is the 130 crore Indians, particularly women and youths, who have taken the lead in the movement. "I congratulate all those working to fulfil the dream of a Swachh Bharat," he said.
According to the Ministry, around 4.7 lakh public toilet seats have been constructed so far. The target set under the mission was 5.07 lakh public toilet seats. More than 12,000 public toilets have been built in Delhi since 2015, the ministry said. Speaking at an event here, HUA Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra said 19 states and UTs were already Open Defecation Free (ODF) in their urban areas.
"This has been achieved by the construction of nearly 60.53 lakh individual household toilets (against a mission target of 66 lakhs; i.E. 91.7% constructed and under-construction against target)," Mishra said in an official statement.
"In the area of solid waste management, at least 40 percent of the total waste generated in the country is being processed, and 52 percent of wards are practising source segregation," the ministry officials said.
On the occasion of the "World Toilet Day", the government also released Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for cleaning of sewers and septic tanks for field staff who respond to sewer overflows or spills.
The workshop on urban sanitation is aimed at addressing challenges in the urban sanitation space thereby enable participating states and cities in proactively implementing viable, affordable and sustainable sanitation solutions for a Swachh Bharat.
The Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Mission) aims to achieve 100 per cent open defecation free (ODF) and scientific solid waste management in India by October 2, 2019, the 150th birthday anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
