Sambalpur: Sambalpur district was declared open defecation free after it achieved 100 per cent toilet coverage under Swachh Bharat Mission, according to official data. The ground reality, however, tells a different story.
Talajharan village under Jujumura block can be taken as a case in point. This village was declared open defecation free (ODF) December 31, 2018. On this occasion, the administration had organised a function attended by government officers and members of NGOs. It was then a prestige issue to get the ODF tag.
As things stand, it would be a complete misnomer to call this village as an ODF village. A visit to this village will make one believe why it can no longer be an ODF village.
One or two families in the village are presently using toilets. And the rest have no choice to go to either farmlands or pond banks to relieve themselves.
The villagers alleged that the announcement was nothing but a gimmick of politicians. The masons engaged to construct the toilets were from outside the state. “Neither they nor the administrative officials responded to our queries regarding the design of toilets. They instead would scold us, saying our names would be struck off the list. We were then given a sum of Rs 12,000 each to get our toilets constructed. We were then even told that we can invest more to get a toilet of their choice,” a villager said.
“Due to substandard construction work, all the toilets developed cracks and subsequently caved in, making them unfit for use. Those who got their toilets repaired are using the ones and there are hardly one or two such families. As we were not aware of the scheme, we were duped,” they rued.
Rural water supply and sanitation (RWSS) executive engineer B Routray was evasive. “Earlier the RWSS department was entrusted with the scheme. At that time, almost all the toilets were completed. As of now, district rural development department (DRDA) is carrying out the scheme,” he said.
Notably, the scheme was launched in the district in financial year of 2013-14. In the first year, only two toilets were constructed. Later, a target for 5,371; 37,111; 51,361; 20,303 and 37,825 toilets was fixed for 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 financial years respectively. And the department informed that the set targets were achieved.
If the department sources are to go by, then as of now, only 250 toilets are under construction.
PNN