NEW DELHI: Construction of toilets in villages has generated nearly 70 crore mandays of work since the launch of Swachh Bharat Mission in 2014, the government said on Friday.

“Construction of one toilet takes three days and three people are engaged. So far about 7.7 core toilets have been built. You can calculate the mandays of work generated because of toilet construction,” drinking water and sanitation secretary Parameswaran Iyer told TOI.

Sources said the indirect economic impact of toilet construction and their usage is huge as it pushed construction activities across villages besides pushing the demand of toilet accessories across the country. “This is also world’s biggest behaviour change programme and that too in shortest time,” Iyer said.

Some of the Swcahh Bharat champions TOI had talked during the Champaran campaign had shared how people from upper castes had even took to toilet construction as government pushed building of more individual household latrines.

After accelerating the toilet coverage from merely 39% to 88% in less than four years, the government on Thursday launched a month-long Swachhta survey across 6,980 villages in 698 districts. The sanitation ministry said 34,000 public places such as schools, anganwadis, public health centres, haat/ bazaars and religious places in these villages will be visited for survey. Citizens’ feedback will be collected from over 50 lakh people on the Swachh Bharat Mission related issues through direct interaction and online as well.

The ranking of all the districts on the line of clean municipal areas will be announced on October 2 and they will receive award as well.

Besides availability of toilets, usage and hygiene of toilets, status of littering and stagnant water will be the parameters for assessment. Citizens’ feedback and direct observation by third party will have 70% weightage for ranking of districts. The ministry has engaged three major third party entities which will carry out the assessment and and spot visits.

