Modi govt built 6 crore toilets since coming to power in 2014: Union minister

Hyderabad: The NDA government has built six crore toilets since coming to power at the Centre in 2014 and another two crore are to be constructed by the end of the next fiscal, Union Minister Ram Kripal Yadav said on Monday. [caption id=“attachment_3500135” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The Union minister of state for rural development, who was in the city to attend official programmes, claimed that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office and talked about cleanliness and constructing toilets, people made light of it. “After the country’s Independence, unfortunately, toilets could not be built in our houses. When prime minister came (to power) in 2014 and talked about cleanliness and constructing toilets from (the ramparts of) Red Fort, people made light of it,” he told reporters in Hyderabad. “A total of six crore toilets have been built in the last four years. Our target is to build (another) two crore toilets by the next financial year,” Yadav said. The NDA government initially planned to provide free LPG connections to five crore poor women, but the target has been increased to eight crore, he said, adding, “This scheme is a game-changer.” Yadav said, “There were 18,000 villages without electricity. Our government has provided electricity to 16,000 villages. The target is to electrify all villages by this financial year. There will be no house which did not have electricity.” The Union minister said the government’s target is to build one crore houses for the poor by 2019 and also talked about its plan to eradicate poverty by 2022. He also highlighted the mega health care scheme announced by the NDA government in the budget.