PERAMBALUR: Rather than building a ‘toilet for every house’, 12 toilets have been constructed side by side in Adaikkampatti village of Perambalur district. They now resemble community toilets and have been built with Central government funds. The funds are meant for construction of individual toilets. These toilets in the village also have a common roof.
When villagers asked how this was allowed to happen, panchayat officials did not respond. These toilets also have no water connection.
When TNIE reached out to some beneficiaries, they said they did not know about any toilet being constructed in their name. Over 900 families live in Adaikkampatti village in Alathur taluk.
Open defecation was very common here. Some public toilets were built three years ago for the public to prevent open defecation.However, due to neglect and no water supply, the toilets soon became unusable. The new village president decided to construct a toilet in Adaikkampatti using funds from the Central government’s ‘toilet for every house’ scheme.
Instead of a toilet in each house or at least near people’s homes, 12 individual toilets in a row at one place were constructed three months ago. This shocked beneficiaries and villagers, who wondered how they were different from public toilets. Authorities have also painted beneficiaries’ names on the door of each toilet. Each toilet was built at a cost of ` 12,000.
A 25-year-old resident of Kuzhumur who did not wish to be named said, “The toilets are reserved for 12 people in our village. But even those whose names are on the doors are unaware they have a toilet for themselves, albeit far from their homes.”
Azar (name changed), another resident, said, “Schemes like this are beneficial for everyone, especially women. But when a scheme is implemented so poorly, it is discouraging for all of us. Had 12 houses benefitted like they were supposed to, many would have followed suit to use the scheme and Adaikkampatti would be on the path of becoming an open defecation-free village. Now, no one would wish to apply for the scheme.”
Elanthalapatti panchayat president M Selvi told TNIE, “There is no place to build a toilet in front of people’s homes. So, we built the toilets at a single location in the village. Beneficiaries are aware of this.”