Govt aims over 2 lakh latrines under SBM
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, October 27 2014:
The Government is planning to complete construction of latrines for 2,31,378 households, which do not have sanitary latrines, in the coming five years under Swachh Bharat Mission in the State.
An official source from the Public Health Engineering Department said that although the Government will spend Rs 12,000 per latrine, not even a single paisa would be charged from any beneficiary family.
Launched in 1986, Central Government's Rural Sanitation Programme was restructured in 1999 as Total Sanitation Programme, the source said.
It added that the same programme was again restructured as Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan in 2012 .
Although, the State could not fully achieve the target of constructing 4,31,378 latrines under these sanitation programmes, 200,000 latrines have been constructed so far in the State, the source added.
With the launching of Swachh Bharat Mission, all the latrines would now be constructed free of cost though beneficiaries had to contribute a part of the total cost of construction till the time of Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan, the source added.
Although, the Central Government had earlier set a target to complete these sanitation programmes by 2022, the Modi Government has shortened the time period and reset it to wrap up the Swachh Bharat Mission in 2019 all over the country to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
In North East States and Jammu and Kashmir, the Central Government will bear 90 percent of the total cost of latrine construction while the State Government will contribute 10 percent, the source said.
It further said that the sanitation programme would be taken up in five components � constructions of individual household latrines, school and anganwadi latrines, community sanitary complex and solid waste management.
Construction of latrines for schools would be handled by the Education (S) Department and latrines for anganwadi centres by Social Welfare Department, the source said and added that PHED would deal with the remaining three components.
With the coming of Swachh Bharat Mission, earlier systems for the construction of individual household latrines, community sanitary complex and solid liquid waste management plants and providing financial assistance from MGNREGS have been restructured and Central Government officials would directly monitor these projects now, the source added.