Shillong, Dec 10: Meghalaya has achieved 78.5% success in construction of toilets under Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) with 53,627 individual household latrines and 1,108 community sanitary complex units built so far.
PHE minister Marcuise N Marak disclosed the figures on the occasion of culmination of the nationwide Hamara Shauchalay: Hamara Samman (HSHS) campaign on Tuesday, which also coincides with Human Rights Day aligning sanitation with dignity and human rights.
The campaign was launched on World Toilet Day November 19 with the objective to call attention to the need for functionality of toilets both individual or household toilets and community toilets.
Organized by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation under Ministry of Jal Shakti, the three-week campaign mobilised communities across India, bringing sanitation into the spotlight as a matter of collective pride and responsibility.
Informing that department has received over 14.80 lakh applications for construction of individual household latrines, the PHE minister said, “We have sanctioned funds for construction of 87,184 individual toilets in different villages at the cost of ₹12,000 each.”
Marak also reviewed implementation of SMB in the state and said, “I have made it clear that the department should make sure all toilets both individual and community toilets be functional.”
According to the minister, the state has achieved 83.81% success in terms of Open Defecation Free (ODF) Plus status.
Availability of land for constructing toilets was one of the challenges faced during implementation the Mission.
“Therefore, I request our rangbah shnong, nokmas, dolois to cooperate with the government in the creation of such assets so that we can achieve 100 percent construction of toilets in the state,” he added.
