Urban areas on course to become free of open defecation

With nearly 23 lakh individual household toilets being built in urban areas in the last two years, the target of ending open defecation in urban areas by 2019 is broadly on course, the Ministry of Urban Development said on Monday.

According to an official statement, since the October 2014 launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission, 22,97,389 individual household toilets have been constructed in urban areas. The mission targets constructing 66,42,221 toilets in urban areas by 2019.

With 22,97,389 individual household toilets or 35 per cent of the mission target having been built in two years, the construction of toilets meant for ending open defecation in urban areas is broadly on course, said the statement.

Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on the day reviewed the progress of the mission in urban areas.

Gujarat with 4,06,388 toilets and Andhra Pradesh with 1,93,426 toilets became free of open defecation (ODF) in urban areas in September, achieving the target three years ahead of the deadline.

The other leading performers were Kerala having built 62,450 of the targeted 90,986 toilets, Chhattisgarh with 1,83,726 of the targeted 3,00,000 toilets, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 2,34,377 and Tamil Nadu 2,57,781 toilets.

States like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Jharkhand have built over 30 per cent of the targeted toilets.

Among the states lagging behind were Manipur, having built only 9 per cent of the targeted toilets, followed by Bihar with 7.40 per cent and Uttarakhand with 7 per cent.

Arunachal Pradesh was at the bottom having contributed 1.60 per cent of the toilets targeted to be built.

--IANS

and/ask/vt