Centre asks states to finish sanitation projects on time

New Delhi, July 24 (UNI) The Centre today asked the state governments to focused on the Total Sanitation Campaign and ensure that sanctioned projects were completed within stipulated time frame.

Reviewing the performance of the Campaign here, Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said Meghalaya, Dadra&Nagar Haveli, Bihar, Manipur, Punjab, Asom, Punducherry, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Jammu&Kashmir were poor performing states where household sanitation coverage was much below the national average.

Nirmal Gram Puraskar, a performance-linked incentive scheme has brought about a silent revolution in the rural areas of the country with the construction of 2.5 crore individual houselhold latrines in the last two and half years and this was possible because of involvement of local community through Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in many States, he said.

The Minister, however, expressed concern over the pace of implementation of the programme in some States and emphasised the need for large-scale involvement of NGOs and Community-based organisations.

The UN Millennium Goal aims for Total Sanitation Coverage by 2015.

The Indian Government is implementing the programme with a view to provide Total Sanitation Coverage by the year 2012. The Government has sanctioned projects for Total Sanitation Coverage for 573 out of 593 districts of the country.

The programme emphasises on Community participation, which involves awareness generation, Information, Education&Communication (IEC) activities, financial incentives to the BPL people, revolving financial assistance to population above the poverty line and full Government support to sanitary requirements of the Communities.

The Sanitation coverage as per 2001 Census was 21 per cent of the rural households of the country, which has now gone up to 45 per cent.

UNI