IndiaCSR News Network
BENGALURU: Congress-ruled Karnataka has pipped all other states, including BJP-ruled ones, in implementing PM Modi’s Swachh Bharat mission. The state tops the country in the number of toilets built under government programmes so far in fiscal 2014-15 — Karnataka has built 3.57 lakh, or about 15% of the total 25.30 lakh toilets built in the country this fiscal year.
Figures compiled by the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation under the Swachh Bharat (Gramin) scheme show that the PM’s home state of Gujarat has built just 1.34 lakh toilets. The population of Gujarat and Karnataka are almost similar —according to 2011 census, Gujarat had a population of 6 crore and Karnataka, 6.1 crore.
Karnataka’s rural development minister, HK Patil, who has no qualms in praising Modi for the initiative, has set a very ambitious target of building as much as 10 lakh toilets this year for the state. “We are first in the country,” he told ET. “Last year, we had a target of 6 lakh toilets, and built 5,00,500 of them. This year we have been more ambitious and want to meet a target of at least 8-10 lakh,” he said. West Bengal, ruled by Trinamool Congress, stands second on the national list, building 3.12 lakh toilets this year.
The only BJP-ruled state to get into the top three is Madhya Pradesh, with 3.04 lakh toilets. Other BJP-ruled states are lagging woefully behind. While Goa has not built a single toilet in the last three years, Chhattisgarh has built just 30,819 and Rajasthan, 1.79 lakh. By August 15 next year, Karnataka hopes to make 10,000 villages opendefecation free.
Source: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-01-12/news/57982905_1_karnataka-toilets-opendefecation
