The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Sanitary complexes in Kancheepuram under-utilised

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Sanitary complexes in Kancheepuram under-utilised

Staff Reporter

KANCHEEPURAM: It is an achievement sans persistent use. Like in any other welfare scheme implementation, the Kancheepuram district has achieved 100 percent execution of sanitary complex for women scheme.

But in reality, the facility remains under-utilised at several places for obvious reasons.

A total of 650 sanitary complexes for women have been constructed in 648 village panchayats in the district and local women self-help groups were entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining the complex.

They were allowed to collect nominal fee from the users to meet the expenses incurred for maintenance.

Cent per cent implementation

Simultaneously, villagers were motivated to construct toilets in their houses under total sanitation scheme, wherein Rs.500 was given to each family as subsidy and several panchayats have achieved 100 percent implementation of individual toilets scheme also.

Thus the common facility, each constructed as a cost of Rs.2.25 to Rs.2.50 lakhs (depending on the number of bathrooms and toilets it had), lost its utility value as the rural people thought that it would be unwise to "pay and use" the facility as they had already constructed a toilet in their respective houses, under the subsidy scheme.

Wallajabad, Aasur, Vedal (on Kancheepuram-Uthiramerur Road) and Ozhayiur were some of the places where the sanitary complexes were kept under lock and key due lack of patronage from local women.

Lack of sufficient water

While in some villages, women complain that their interest to use the facility at least for washing of clothes weaned away in view of non-availability of sufficient water, at some places (like in Wallajabad) levying of charges kept them away.

A few village panchayat presidents told this correspondent, on condition of anonymity, that the government could have utilised the amount spent for construction of sanitary complexes in a better way.

Instead of blindly constructing sanitary complexes, the subsidy extended under individual toilet scheme could have been increased by Rs.200 or Rs.300.

The increased amount would have definitely helped the beneficiaries to put up a solid enclosure around the toilets instead of the present thatched enclosures, they claimed.

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