Fund for construction of rural toilets doubled

New Delhi: Concerned over poor sanitation in rural areas, the government on Thursday doubled the amount given for construction of household lavatories from Rs 4,600 to nearly Rs 10,000. It also scrapped the distinction between below poverty line and above poverty line used for identifying the beneficiaries.[caption id=“attachment_335951” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Seeking cleanliness. Image courtesy PIB”]  [/caption] The decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in New Delhi. Now, the Total Sanitation Campaign will be known as Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan, said Union Rural Development Minister and the Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation Jairam Ramesh. He said chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Punjab had demanded fair allocation for achieving the sanitation goals. He said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid stress on linking sanitation programme in 200 districts, where the problem of malnutrition was acute. He said the Planning Commission had approved Rs 36,000 crore for drinking water and sanitation programmes in the 12th Five Year Plan against Rs 7,800 crore allocated in the 11th plan. The cabinet also made toilet construction mandatory for availing funds under the Indira Awaas Yojana. The allocation for housing scheme will also be raised from existing Rs 45,000 to Rs 75,000 by the end of July, said the minister. IANS