NREGS Workers to be Roped in to Build Toilets in Villages

KARUR: Even as its campaign to eradicate open defecation and promote sanitation among rural communities has gathered pace, the district administration has launched a programme to construct Individual Household Latrines (IHHL) through the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA). The agency has mooted the idea of utilising the work force of NREGS to carry out the work that would be carried out under MGNREGS and Nirmal Bharat Abiyan (NBA) programmes.

An official of the DRDA told Express that it would take 15 man days to build one sanitation complex, and that only NREGS workers would be inducted to construct the sanitation complexes.

In a first step, NREGS workers would be encouraged to build latrines in their houses, wherever it is absent, and given subsidy for building the same, the official added. According to social welfare activists, the idea of making people build their own toilets would make them aware of personal hygiene and bring in behavioural change.

As many as 17,363 houses across the district have been identified for building sanitation complexes under the MGNREGS.

For building each unit, Rs 10,000 would be given as subsidy sans beneficiary contribution. Officials claim that beneficiaries too are NREGS workers. And it is the NREGS workers who are to engage in construction of the sanitation unit in their own houses.

For this, each worker would be given daily wage of Rs 167 for 15 days. This would mean that the NREGS beneficiary would be paid Rs 2505 in addition to the subsidiy. A maximum of two workers can be employed for building one unit. Only the mason will be employed from outside the NREGS work force for wages of Rs 363 per day, officials said.

According to data available with the DRDA, under NBA a total of 14,631 houses have been identified for building build sanitation complex during 2013-14 and in 2014-15 financial year. Of these, 4787 units were completed and construction is underway for building the remaining and the same would be completed in a span of one month, added the DRDA official.

Each unit would comprise a complex attached with two leach pits (septic tanks). Each unit costs Rs 11,100 which includes subsidy of Rs 5,700 from the government and Rs 4,500 from the MGNREGS and beneficiary contribution of Rs 900.

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