The district administration has planned to ensure toilets for all in Gautam Budh Nagar, which comprises Noida and Greater Noida.
The officials said areas that are now governed by development authorities will get toilets by March next year, while village areas will be covered phase-wise.
Help from NGOs
The authorities have roped in non-government organisations as well to achieve the target.
Gautam Budh Nagar District Magistrate B.N. Singh said both the development authorities and the district administration have fixed their goal to make Noida and Greater Noida open defecation-free (ODF) cities.
“We have drawn up a detailed plan to achieve desired results but without public participation, it will be hard to achieve. So our teams in development authorities and district administration are holding meetings with the public and educating them about ill effects of open defecation,” the District Magistrate added.
Survey conducted
Over 40,000 toilets need to be constructed in the 400 villages in the city, according to the authorities.
“Before executing the plan, we conducted a survey and came to know about agencies working on reducing open defecation. One organisation inaugurated 13 sanitation projects on World Toilet Day on Sunday [on November 19] in Agwanpur. This will benefit over 2.5 lakh people living in the area,” the officer claimed.
Quality of life
Till date, Believers Eastern Church has constructed nearly 28,000 sanitation facilities, largely for underprivileged families across various parts of the country.
“Most people living in the area are daily-wage labourers who have migrated from Uttarakhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Our aim is to reach out to the neediest sections so that their quality of life improves,” K.P. Yohannan of the Believers Eastern Church said.
