Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency, Varanasi will need 32 more years to build the 2.3 lakh toilets planned by the Centre for October 2019, a study on the rate of building toilets, by Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), has shown.
As per the analysis, 82.3 million toilets are yet to be constructed across the country, and to meet the target, 2.3 million toilets will have to be built every month—or 56 toilets every minute.
The study published in the inaugural issue of Down To Earth Hindi, a monthly magazine supported by CSE, on Sunday, has analysed the ‘toilet building’ performance in the constituencies of a number of central ministers, chief ministers and a few opposition leaders over the last two years.
It comes after Modi had during his first year of rule promised a toilet for every citizen of India by October 2, 2019, the 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
According to the report, only 7,327 toilets have been built in Varanasi in the past two years as against a target of 2,34,489 by October 2019.
Home minister Rajnath Singh’s constituency Lucknow has so far built 5,332 toilets against a target of 1,86,177. At the current rate, the target can be achieved by 2051.
{{/usCountry}}Home minister Rajnath Singh’s constituency Lucknow has so far built 5,332 toilets against a target of 1,86,177. At the current rate, the target can be achieved by 2051.
{{/usCountry}}Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s constituency, Kannauj has a target of 5,47,739 toilets, but has managed only 8,309, requiring another 66 years to reach his target.
Sonia Gandhi’s constituency, Rae Bareli has built only 6,581 toilets and will achieve the target of 2,87,703 only by 2060, the study said.
The other leaders whose performance has been assessed include external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, defence minister Manohar Parikkar, water minister Uma Bharti, transport minister Nitin Gadkari, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
“The progress in building toilets has not been at par with the targets. Our analysis says that meeting the target of 1019 is easier said than done,” Richard Mahapatra, managing editor of Down To Earth Hindi, said.
“The analysis is also to remind us that building toilets is only a small part of the movement towards access to sanitation for all. We must ensure that they are used and are functional,” director general of CSE, Sunita Narain said.