Dhaulimuhan village
in Khurda district still
has only 11 per cent
toilet coverage
Dhaulimuhan (Khurda): In a clear case of corruption in the Swachh Bharat Mission, government officials in Khurda district of the state are allegedly taking bribes from local villagers for toilet construction and doing literally nothing for them.
A visit to the Dhaulimuhan village in the Khurda district revealed that local officials who came for survey and collect details of the eligible beneficiaries for Swachh Bharat Mission, which ensures incentives worth Rs 12,000 for constructing toilets in each household, reportedly took bribes from the villagers, but did nothing to ensure adequate toilet facilities in the village.
As per the statistics released by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, the Dhaulimuhan village of Khudra district is one of the worst performing village where the toiled coverage is a mere 11 per cent, while the remaining 89 per cent populace are left with no option, but to defecate in the open.
“Most of the households in the village do not have toilets and the villagers are used to open defecation. This is contrary to the tall claims made by the Union government of covering each and every household under the mission. Around three months back, some officials came to the village and took Rs 20 from persons they said were eligible for the benefits under the mission, but no help reached them till now,” said Prasanna Mishra, a villager from Dhaulimuhan.
Mishra added that the officials vanished after taking money from them and no toilet construction aid was received for the village. Others told Orissa POST that no volunteers or officials visited the village to bring any change in the sanitation coverage.
“No Swacchagrahi or any other volunteer or official came to take people into confidence to talk about the negatives of open defecation and encourage the villagers to build toilets. Villagers would like to build toilets if government granted aid,” said Smruti Ranjan, a 32-year-youth from the village.
Other veterans told this newspaper that women and children are worst victims of the apathy of the planning executive officials.
“Many men and women still have to trek a kilometer in search of a concealed place to defecate in the open. Women are the worst victims as they leave home at around 5am or in the evening when the lights are dim. This is humiliating and the district administration is responsible for the mess,” said Pratap Saranagi, another villager from Dhaulimuhan.
The Union government launched the Swachh Bharat Mission October 2, 2014 with the objective to eliminate open defecation, convert insanitary toilets to pour flush toilets, eradicate manual scavenging and ensure 100 per cent collection and scientific processing of municipal wastes among others. The government, under the scheme, promised to ensure one toilet in each household and also give incentives to people after construction of toilets.