The Karnataka Government has set the target of declaring 1,000 villages across the country and Udupi district in coastal Karnataka as “open defecation free” by January 26, said Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj H.K. Patil.
Though Karnataka had earlier declared over 100 villages as “open defecation free”, a third-party investigation by the department had proved that nearly 80 per cent of them were false claims, forcing it to peg the number at 20, said the minister, speaking at a media workshop on the occasion of World Toilet Day on Wednesday. He said that the government hopes to bring 10,000 villages under the list by August 15, 2015.
Mr. Patil said that plans are afoot to build 20 lakh public toilet complexes that will include not only lavatories but also bathing areas. About 1,000 such toilet complexes will be built in the first phase, the minister added. Under the ‘Swachch Bharat Mission’, Karnataka plans to build 10 lakh toilets in houses by 2014-15, of which over 36,000 have been completed according official statistics.
