Toilets in rural areas: BJP-ruled states lag behind

According to the latest data of Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, there has been a 446 per cent increase in construction of toilets since the launch of Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) last year and 46 per cent of rural households now have toilets in their homes.

Among the BJP-ruled states, Jammu & Kashmir is at the bottom of the list with just 30 per cent of households in rural areas having toilet facilities followed by Jharkhand, which has achieved the target of constructing toilets in 32 per cent rural areas of the state.

In the other BJP-ruled states such as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the figures of toilet construction in rural areas are not very encouraging. 

About 35 per cent of rural population in MP is having toilet access while Rajasthan has 37 per cent and Chhattisgarh has 42 per cent. Haryana, where BJP has come to power after years, has better than several other states with 78 per cent of its households are having access to toilets in the state.

Surprisingly in Gujarat, the home state of PM Modi, only 60 per cent of rural population has access to toilet facilities, while Goa, which is projected as tourist hub of the country, has also fulfilled the target of 60 per cent toilet construction in countryside areas.

Among the Congress-ruled states, Kerala is at the top of the list with 96 per cent of the state’s rural population having access to toilets, followed by Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh. Sikkim, which has topped among northeastern states, has completed 95 per cent of toilets in rural areas, while Himachal Pradesh has built toilets in 91 per cent rural area.

The worst performing state is BJD-ruled Odisha, which has achieved just 14 per cent of the total target, its neighbouring state Bihar has built toilets in 23 per cent parts of the rural area. Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party- ruled state, has completed just 40 per cent of the total target to built toilets in rural households. Other states ruled by opposition parties such Trinamool Congress, AIADMK have fared well as about 68 per cent rural houses in West Bengal have toilet facility, while 52 per cent of rural population in Tamil Nadu has toilets.

The Swachh Bharat Mission, the pet project of PM Modi envisions constructing toilets in every household of the country by 2019, the year when the Modi government completes its five-year term.

Modi, during his Lok Sabha poll campaigns, had said to build toilets first and temples later. “I am known to be a Hindutva leader. My image does not permit to say so, but I dare to say. My real thought is — Pehle shauchalaya, phir devalaya’ (temple first, toilet later),” he had said.