Opportunistic behavior has been a specialty for Indians where some of us just wish to squeeze out money from wherever possible. In the Chhatarpur village of Madhya Pradesh, we could the see the similar story. Under Swachh Bharat Mission, government constructed toilets here many villagers converted them to kitchen and grocery shops.
One of the native, Dinesh Yadav, said that the sarpanch of the village got the toilet constructed but didn’t complete the whole work.
"WE GAVE HIM THE MONEY TRANSFERRED INTO OUR ACCOUNT (BY THE GOVERNMENT). BUT SO FAR THE TOILET HAS NOT BEEN COMPLETED. WE STILL GO OUT FOR ATTENDING NATURE’S CALL.”
His misery is that toilet does not have a working septic tank.
One other native, Laxman Kushwaha, who is a labourer is using his toilet for earning by turning it into a grocery shop. He found the toilet unusable as the septic tank was very tiny.
DK Maurya, who is additional district magistrate of Chhatarpur said, “I ADMIT THERE ARE SOME PROBLEMS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS SCHEME. WE ARE TAKING ACTION AGAINST THOSE FOUND GUILTY AND RECKLESS. STRICT ACTION HAS BEEN TAKEN AND DISTRICT COORDINATOR HAS BEEN SHUNTED OUT FOR LAPSES.”
RK Pathak, who is a convener at NGO mentioned, “Many sarpanchs and secretaries are working as contractors and they tell villagers that if they construct the toilets on their own, the inspection officer may not approve the construction. So they ask them to get their toilets constructed through them. This needs a thorough investigation.”
India needs a lot of improvement. But, more than poor, the money snatchers and irresponsible manipulators need to grow first.