ODF announced on 2012 census, but 44 lakh homes still have no toilets

Lucknow: Rural Uttar Pradesh is now 100% open defecation free. However, the target has been achieved as per 2012 census data, which has significant under-reporting of beneficiaries.
A new survey carried out between October and November last year shows the government will have to construct another 36 to 44 lakh toilets to ensure families are covered under the Central government scheme.

The claim is based on data submitted to the government by all 75 districts. Since these claims are being reviewed, the government has not made an official declaration.

As per the 2012 baseline survey, UP had 2.49 crore families of which only 76 lakh had toilets. Since October 2, 2014, at least 1.71 crore toilets have been constructed in rural UP. “Almost 1 crore of these have been constructed in past year,” said Akash Deep, mission director of Swachh Bharat Mission UP (Rural).

UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath announced the state would be ODF by October 2, 2018. That deadline was missed as claims by several districts were still being verified.

The government also carried out a fresh survey for inclusion of those families who were not part of the 2012 survey.

Sources in the government said the Centre is keen on fixing the issue as 36 lakh new toilets will be constructed and the state has come up with a figure of 44 lakh. “While a consensus on number of toilets to be constructed is being worked on, the Centre set a deadline of January 31 to complete their construction. This is not possible and we are seeking time till end of the current financial year,” an official said.

Akash Deep said at the peak of construction, 18 lakh toilets per month had been constructed.

Officials in the government questioned the logic of declaring the state or a district ODF on the basis of old data, saying it without actually ensure that all families have access to toilets and the exercise would be futile. “Even among the target achieved, we have had reports of poor quality construction and underuse. Significantly, there were many districts who last year had over-reported their targets. The CM had to threaten action if these figures were not revised to reflect the status on ground,” said an official.

The government had appointed Quality Council of India in August to carry out a third-party assessment of toilets constructed under SMB. Sources said, the survey had been suspended for the time being and would start once the government completed its own survey.

QCI’s role is to assess not just quality of construction, but also usage. The government received several complaints not just of poor construction, but also embezzlement of funds by village pradhans. Beneficiaries have been given Rs 12,000 as incentive for construction of toilets, part of which has been paid by the Centre.