Source: The Hindu
Infosys Foundation has evinced interest in constructing toilets in the houses of both below the poverty line (BPL) and above the poverty line (APL) families in rural areas in the Hyderabad Karnataka region to improve sanitation.
The foundation has been in touch with the officials of the zilla panchayat to work out details of funding the project and on how to get beneficiaries also involved. According to a note submitted by the foundation, the toilets would be different from those constructed earlier at a cost of Rs. 4,000 each. They would be strong and durable structures that would last at least 25 years. The design of the toilets includes a two-compartment plastered septic tank, a soak pit, 6-ft-high brick walls, an RCC roof, a ventilator and a metal door, costing around Rs. 18,000 in all. The foundation said that the existing toilets constructed under the Total Sanitation Campaign were primitive, and the pits designed for them were faulty as they got filled with water during the rainy season.
When contacted, Chief Executive Officer of the Gulbarga Zilla Panchayat Salma Fahim confirmed that the proposal had been received from Infosys Foundation, including a formula for meeting the expenditure. While the zilla panchayat would contribute Rs. 3,000 each for BPL families, APL families would have provide this amount. The beneficiaries would be provided bank loans of Rs. 7,000 each. The Krishna Grameena Bank had agreed to provide loans to one village on a pilot basis and later extend it to other villages.
Ms. Fahim said that the bank had also agreed to treat the release of Rs. 7,000 as a long-term loan so that the beneficiaries could repay it in five years at Rs. 140 a month. The remaining Rs. 8,000 would be borne by the foundation.
The foundation proposes to construct at least 10,000 toilets on a pilot basis in the villages selected by the administration in the Hyderabad Karnataka region.
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