LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government today said it had elbowed out other states in the construction of toilets, with over 3.52 lakh units being built over 17 days under the Centre's Swachhta hi Seva campaign.The toilets were constructed between September 15 and October 2, an official statement said.UP was followed by Rajasthan, which constructed 2,54,953 toilets, and Karnataka, which got 2,41,708 toilets built in the same period, it said.As many as 18,24,549 toilets were constructed across states, the statement issued by the office of chief secretary Rajive Kumar said.On September 4, nagar panchayat Sahanpur in Bijnore district was declared open defecation free by the Centre, it said."The state government has requested the Centre to declare 12 nagar panchayats and other local bodies of the state open-defecation free (after a third party inspection)," it said.Kumar has instructed officials to expedite work, so that 653 urban local bodies of the state could be declared open- defecation free by May 2019.Instructions have also been issued to raise the amount given for construction of personal toilets from Rs 8,000 to Rs 20,000 under urban local bodies, the statement said.