Punjab government to provide toilets to all village households

Chandigarh, July 9, 2014: The Punjab Government has strengthened its drive to provide sanitation facilities to village households through the sanctioned Rs. 20 crore to construct toilets free of cost in rural areas for the families living below the poverty line.
A spokesman of the Rural Development and Panchayat Department said that the proposal of the department has been approved by the Punjab Government with an aim to provide sanitation facilities to needy classes of the society. Asides from providing increased proximity of these facilities, rigorous efforts would be made to ensure the proper maintenance and upkeep of the same.
Earlier Rs. 94 crore had also been spent by the Punjab Government to construct 80689 toilets in villages. He said that the department has set an ambitious target to provide toilets to all BPL families by December 2015 and the department has sought the reports from all BDPO’s about the need as constructing toilets in villages falls under their jurisdiction. The Government remains committed to battling the practice of open defecation, a practice which leads to dire consequences for public health i.e. increased incidences of cases/deaths caused by preventable diseases like diarrhea or hepatitis.
Calling the sanitation facilities critical to ensure human development as well as a step towards women safety, the spokesman has also said that all BDPO’s have also been asked to ensure quality of construction under their personal supervision.