Modi Government Spends ₹530 Cr On Swachh Bharat’s Publicity But Does Not Have ₹36 Cr To Repair Toilets In Govt Schools

Q.2 Do fluff events like “Swacchta hi Sewa” hold any meaning if the government is not willing to put its money where its mouth is?

The Human Resource and Development (HRD) ministry has refused to allocate funds for repairing 1200 toilets in Tamil Nadu’s government elementary schools.

Tamil Nadu requested the HRD ministry for ₹43 crore to repair about 1775 toilets – 911 girls’ toilets and 864 boys’ toilets. However, the HRD ministry approved less than a third of the amount – ₹12 crore – sufficient to repair only 500 toilets.

According to the minutes of the project approval board meeting held in New Delhi on July 31,the HRD ministry’s excuse for not releasing the entire requested amount waslack of funds, reported The Times of India.

It is notable that the centre spent a whopping ₹530 crore on the publicity of the much-hyped Swachh Bharat Mission between its inception in 2014 to November 2017, reported Scroll. But when it comes to actually maintaining toilets for school children, the government doesn’t have enough funds.

“Many toilets in government schools are poorly maintained forcing children to relieve themselves in secluded corners within the school premises,” said education activist C Gopal.

Documents accessed by TOI also show that in the past, the centre has delayed releasing even the funds that were sanctioned. Reportedly, the state could not build 880 toilets for disabled children for more than a year because it did not receive funds from the centre.

Also Read: Data Shows Modi Stalled Central Funds For Karnataka; Yeddyurappa Emptied State Coffers