Nearly 95 lakh toilets built in 1st year of Swachh Bharat, says Chaudhary Birender Singh

Within one year of Swachh Bharat Mission's launch, about 95 lakh toilets have been constructed across the country against the target of 60 lakh toilets, said Union Minister for Rural Development and Drinking Water and Sanitation Chaudhary Birender Singh here.

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Singh said that the pace of construction of toilets in rural India has gathered momentum. He said, states like West Bengal, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Maharashtra have taken the lead in construction of individual household and community toilets and these states may achieve the target of Open-Defecation Free status in 2017 or 2018, well ahead of the target of 2nd October, 2019.

The Minister said the government is committed to drive a pan-India mass movement towards improved sanitation and this is possible only through collaborative efforts of the Indian citizens.

He said, his Ministry has encouraged devolution of the responsibility of sanitation promotion, upgradation and management to Gram Panchayats by giving flexibility to the states. Swachh Bharat Mission was launched on October 2 last year, as one of the largest national campaigns to make the country open defecation free in five years.