One of the top priorities of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre is the Swachh Bharat campaign, and if reports are to be believed, the government has taken the task seriously with 7.1 lakh toilets being built in January under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan programme.

One of the top priorities of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre is the Swachh Bharat campaign, and if reports are to be believed, the government has taken the task seriously. The government has built with 7.1 lakh toilets in January under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, reports said.

According The Economic Times, "A total of 31.83 lakh toilets have been built between April 2014 and January 2015, which is 25.4% of the target for 2014-15. The programme entails an investment of nearly Rs 2 lakh crore over the next five years to construct 12 crore toilets in India."

However the report says, that the government would in all probabilities miss its target of building 1.2 crore toilets across the country in this fiscal year.

A senior government official told The Economic Times that, "The targets on the website are to push states to do more and more. However, we are confident of achieving the internal target set earlier under the erstwhile Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan, i.e. 50 lakh household toilets for this year and in subsequent years as funds are not a constraint."

Prime Minister Modi has many speeches in the past, emphasising on the need to built toilets. He also spoke of how lack of toilets in village schools led to girl students dropping out.

Breaking traditions, Modi brought up the topic of toilets even during his Independence Day speech. "Has it ever pained us that our mothers and sisters have to defecate in open? Poor womenfolk of the village wait for the night; until darkness descends, they can`t go out to defecate. What bodily torture they must be feeling, how many diseases that act might engender. Can't we just make arrangements for toilets for the dignity of our mothers and sisters?," he had said.

Even during the run up to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls the Prime Minister had promised to built toilets in all schools in the city.

"When the girl student reaches the age where she realises this (lack of female toilets in the school) she leaves her education midway. As they leave their education midway they remain uneducated. Our daughters must also get equal chance to quality education," he had said.

"After 60 years of independence there should have been separate toilets for girl students in every school. But for the past 60 years they could not provide separate toilets to girls and as result the female students had to leave their education midway," PM Modi had said.

With agency inputs