All for toilets: Cut defence spend on loos, says Jairam

Should we be spending on toilets instead of fighter jets and is the Indian Railways the biggest open air toilet in the world? Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh definitely believes so. Unafraid to speak his mind no matter the ministry he holds, Ramesh yesterday chose to point out that more money was being spent on fighter jets than on toilets. [caption id=“attachment_393382” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Jairam Ramesh with AK Antony. PTI[/caption] At a function which was also attended by Union Defence Minister AK Antony, Ramesh pointed out the total amount of money required for installing 100,000 bio-toilets is equal to what is spent for one Rafale fighter jet India is buying from France. However, an unmoved Antony said they were willing to provide all possible support for his projects but funding wouldn’t be one of them. “I assure Jairam Ramesh that we will provide all necessary support from the Ministry of Defence….by providing you technology,” Antony said. “Money provided in the budget for the Defence is for national security. (For) all other areas, you can seek support from other agencies including state government, local bodies NGOs and also people who are having social commitment,” he said. The minister also targetted the Indian Railways for their delay in modifying their toilets and preventing human waste from littering the tracks. “We are the world’s capital of open defecation. 60 per cent of all open defecation in the world are in India. This is a matter of great shame, anguish, sorrow and actually anger,” Ramesh said at the signing of an MoU between the Defence Research and Development Organisation and Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. “The second dimension of the sanitation is the Indian Railways which is really the largest open toilet in the world. 11 million passangers travel every day,” he said. While the minister has been going to town seeking ears and eyeballs for his toilet campaign, _Firstpost_ had pointed out that merely building toilets isn’t enough when there isn’t enough water or if the people who own them don’t have the money to maintain them. However, a little toilet humour never hurt anyone.