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10,683 toilets yet to see the light of day
In the two districts, 62 villages, including six in Bhadradri-Kothagudem district, were declared open defecation-free. In 20 mandals of the Khammam district, 23,559 toilets have been sanctioned. Of them, 5,109 were executed and the rest are in various stages of construction. In 17 mandals of Bhadrachalam-Kothagudem district, 16,905 toilets have been sanctioned. Works on all toilets were grounded,
Kothagudem/Khammam: In Khammam and Bhadradri-Kothagudem districts, the works of 10,683 individual toilets are yet to be completed. While 6,903 have been fully executed, remaining are in various stages of construction. In fact, 40,464 toilets have been sanctioned. Of them, 29,684 were completed.
In the two districts, 62 villages, including six in Bhadradri-Kothagudem district, were declared open defecation-free. In 20 mandals of the Khammam district, 23,559 toilets have been sanctioned. Of them, 5,109 were executed and the rest are in various stages of construction. In 17 mandals of Bhadrachalam-Kothagudem district, 16,905 toilets have been sanctioned. Works on all toilets were grounded, but 1,794 have been built so far, and with respect to 1,718 toilets, works are in progress.
Beneficiaries, who have built toilets as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission, are yet to get their bills cleared. Out of 16,984 toilets, bills for 15,075 toilets to the tune of Rs 6.33 crore were cleared. In Bhadradri-Kothagudem district, out of 6,717 toilets, bills for 5,897 toilets to the tune of Rs 2.67 crore were cleared.
The situation in the two districts is grave with 10,683 toilets yet to be completed. Officials attribute it to the Agency areas of the district where the cost of construction goes up by another Rs 4,000 in addition to the government sanctioned Rs 12,000. In the Agency areas, the poor cannot afford the additional burden and the beneficiaries are worried about delay in clearing their bills.
In fact, the toilets were sanctioned to only those houses that were surveyed by Blue Frog during 2012-13. Houses built after that period were not taken into consideration for sanctioning the toilets.
Speaking to The Hans India, NREGS Assistant Project Director P Balaram admitted that the construction works of toilets was going on a slow pace. Since a greater part of the districts is under Agency areas, people are not coming forward to remit their contribution. When the matter was taken to District Collector’s note, he spoke with higher authorities to arrange Rs 5,000 as loan to them from the IKP, Stree Nidhi or DWCRA.
He exuded confidence that all works would be completed within 25 days and appealed to the beneficiaries to play an active role in toilets construction. BJP leader Avula Subba Rao has appealed to officials to pay attention to the construction of toilets which the Centre took as a matter of prestige. He appealed to the Tahsildars and MPDOs to allot sand to the beneficiaries free of cost to help them overcome the scarcity.
