Grant for building rural toilets to increase from Rs.3,400 to Rs.10,000

Grant for building rural toilets to increase from Rs.3,400 to Rs.10,000
Fri Jun 8, 2012 1:20 am (PDT)
UPA's battle of loo Cabinet approves raising grant for rural households to build toilets
The Union cabinet on Thursday approved raising the grant for rural households to build toilets from Rs3,400 to Rs10,000. The cabinet was also told that the Planning Commission has set aside Rs36,000 crore exclusively for sanitation during 12th Plan. It had allocated just Rs7,800 crore in the 11th Plan. Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh said prime minister Manmohan Singh had particularly directed him to build toilets in areas suffering from malnutrition. When questioned about feeding such areas first, the minister said it was the duty of the women and child welfare ministry. According to the new scheme, a family has to contribute Rs900 towards construction of the toilets, while the Centre will contribute Rs3,200, the state government Rs1400 and the remaining Rs4500 for construction will come from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. The scheme is also universal as the money will flow to both BPL (below poverty line) and APL (above poverty line) families. The cabinet also agreed to the prime minister's suggestion more attention should be paid to "concurrent evaluation" of the social programmes in rural areas, to plug loopholes and corruption, instead of assessing them only upon completion. Ramesh will formulate a proposal for creation of an independent concurrent evaluation office for the purpose. Ramesh said he also succeeded in securing approval of the cabinet for solid and liquid waste management in villages, so far allowed only in cities and towns. Depending on the size of the village, the Panchayat will get a grant between Rs7 lakhs and Rs20 lakhs. The cabinet also made toilet construction mandatory for availing funds for Indira Aawas Yojana (IAY). The minister said the IAY grant will also be raised from existing Rs45,000 to Rs75,000 by July end. Ramesh also informed that Sikkim has become the first open defecation-free state and this year Kerala and Himachal Pradesh will also follow suit, while Haryana has resolved to achieve the target in the next two years, Punjab in next five years, and the rest of the states in 10 years time. URL: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_upas-battle-of-loo_1699586