PM Modi’s Swachha Bharat could be dying a slow, but steady death

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious project for school children, it seems like, is breathing its last as corporate India and PSUs both have failed to deliver. The grand plan of providing toilets to each school across nation had its deadline of August 15^th of this year.

As reported by Economic Times, the ministry of Human Resource sought help of state governments to also get directly involved in construction of toilets if needed.

A senior HRD official, on condition of anonymity said, "Eleven big corporate, 67 public sector undertakings including banks had taken the responsibility of constructing toilets but barring few, most have not yet reached even 50 per cent mark."

He also alleged that many companies have told the government that the fear of Naxal violence stopped them of going ahead with the project. "But not all toilets fall in Naxal dominated areas. We have been let down," the official further added. The official also explained that though it expects corporate groups and PSUs to fulfill the obligation it is unlikely that it will happen.

The latest data revealed by the HRD ministry showed that out of 138 constructions by Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) only 23 have come up so far. Infosys Foundation was supposed to develop 254 toilets but have constructed only five. Mahindra Group, however, has done better as it has constructed 671 out of 1,214 toilets approved for them.

Among all, Tata Consultancy remained the best as it has constructed 1,157 out of 1,537 allotted to it. On the contrary, FICCI and Titan Company failed to make any.

PSUs were asked to construct 1,47,548 toilets but so far only 49,577 have been constructed. Coal India had committed to construct 50,469 toilets but only 15,871 have come up. NTPC has completed only 9,664 toilets out of 25,410 assigned to them. Airports Authority of India has constructed a little over 10 per cent of the toilets it had agreed to build. Rural Electrification Corporation has made only 3,795 toilets out of 14,626 it was to construct.

Image: indiatimes