HYDERABAD: The state government would come out with district-wise action plan this week to build 36 lakh toilets to convert the state into an open-defecation-free zone in the next four years, panchayat raj minister KT Rama Rao has said.
According to him, toilet-facility was available for only 5.5 per cent households in over 8,700 gram panchayats. Simply put, only 11.62 lakh households out of total 45.26 households in the state have access to a toilet.
He was speaking at a state-level awareness campaign of Swachh Telangana programme here on Tuesday. He gave away Nirmal Gram Puraskar Awards to 36 gram panchayats that stood out in terms of sanitation facilities and supplying piped drinking water for the year 2013 here. The awards were given to gram panchayats by the Union government that are proactive in accelerating sanitation coverage in their jurisdiction.
Stating that the government would utilise NREGS and RWS funds for building toilets, the minister said: “Residents of each village should rise up to the challenge of making their village open-defecation-free zone.”
“If the Water Grid project is grounded, villages will have abundant water and would create huge liquid waste. If this is not treated well using proper drainage system there would be health problems in the villages. Accordingly, the government would plan for proper sewage system,” he explained.
The minister said the last one-year had witnessed a rise in tax collections in gram panchayats. The tax collection in panchayats has increased from 36 per cent to 72 per cent after TRS government took over the reins.
