The Hindu : Karnataka News : Dakshina Kannada may become the first ‘nirmal district’

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 17, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka

Dakshina Kannada may become the first ‘nirmal district’

Jaideep Shenoy

State evaluation teams begin inspection of gram panchayats; the aim is to provide toilets in all villages

The campaign is being promoted by the Union Ministry of Rural Development
The district had an advantage as toilets had been constructed under the sector reforms project

MANGALORE: Dakshina Kannada may well become the first district in the State to fully implement the Total Sanitation Campaign in all the villages in 203 gram panchayats by March 2008.

This campaign, which got under way in March 2005, aims at providing toilets for individual households, anganwadi centres and schools in all villages.

Promoted by the Union Ministry of Rural Development and monitored by the Department of Drinking Water Supply under it, the campaign will officially end in March 2009.

The district had an advantage as some toilets had been constructed under the sector reforms project implemented as part the Rajiv Gandhi Mission in a five-year period from 2000. However, the campaign gathered steam once then district in-charge Minister Jabbar Khan Honnalli launched it on Gandhi Jayanti day in 2005 at Ganjimath in Mangalore taluk.

The involvement of people, officials and non-governmental organisations over the next one year resulted in 49 gram panchayats receiving the Puraskar given by the Ministry.

A.M. Kunjappa, Chief Executive Officer, Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, told The Hindu that the panchayat has sent a list of 112 gram panchayats for the Puraskar for 2007-08.

These include 35 gram panchayats from Bantwal taluk, 26 from Belthangady, 20 from Sullia, 19 from Puttur and 12 from Mangalore. The gram panchayats were given an initial deadline of September to submit their claims, he said.

State-level evaluation teams comprising non-governmental organisations from Bangalore and Mysore have begun their evaluation study of these gram panchayats. The teams would submit their findings to the Director, Karnataka Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency. The agency would send the findings to the Ministry which would then send its team for an independent evaluation of the gram panchayats that have applied for the award. Mr. Kunjappa said efforts would be made to ensure that the campaign was implemented effectively in the remaining 42 gram panchayats, most of them in Mangalore taluk, by March 2008.

These gram panchayats could then stake their claim for the Puraskar in 2008-2009, he noted. Once all gram panchayats in the taluk receive the Puraskar, it would then be declared as “Nirmal Taluk” and each such taluk would get Rs. 20 lakh for their development work, he added.

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