New Delhi [India], Mar 6 (ANI): Lauding the government’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said that over 9.23 crore toilets have been constructed under the scheme.

“Over 9.23 crore toilets have been constructed under the #SwachBharatMission, taking the coverage of toilets from 39% in October, 2014 to 98.9% as on date. 30 States/UTs have become open defecation free,” the Finance Minister tweeted.

In another tweet, Jaitley, while quoting a survey conducted recently, highlighted that 93.4 per cent of households in rural India who have access to toilets utilise them.

"A national survey, conducted by an Independent Agency under the World Bank support to #SwachBharatMission, has found that 93.4% of households in rural India who have access to toilet use it, showing that construction is also matched by a behavioural change in the usage of toilets” the tweet read.

To accelerate efforts to achieve universal sanitation coverage, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in 2014, launched the Swachh Bharat Mission, which is aimed to achieve a clean India by 2019, as a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary. (ANI)