Taking its sanitation drive a step further, the government has revised the guidelines of Indira Awas Yojana, making it mandatory for all houses constructed under the scheme to have a toilet.

In a bid to curb misreporting by states, the ministry of rural development on Monday approved changes to guidelines of the Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) that allow flexibility to the states in identify

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday presented to Sikkim an award for “extraordinary and innovative” work done by the State’s Rural Management and Development Department.

The Prime Minister presented a medal, a scroll and cash award of Rs 5 lakh to DR Nepal, secretary, Rural Management and Development Department, Sikkim, for exemplary performance of civil servants in the organizational category for year 2011–12, said a statement issued by Sikkim’s principal resident commissioner here.

There are more than 12 lakh households in Assam which have not had access to toilets. Despite the Total Sanitation Campaign, the practice of open defecation continues in the State.

The Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) or Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA) is a community–led total sanitation programme launched by the Government of India in 1999. It is a demand–driven and people–centred sanitation programme. The main goal of the Total Sanitation Campaign is to eradicate the practice of open defecation by 2017. Villages that achieve the ‘open defecation free’ status receive monetary rewards and high publicity under a programme called Nirmal Gram Puraskar.

SHILLONG: The State government is proposing to implement the four-tier Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) now rechristened as the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA) in all the districts of the State to ensur

As the State had performed appreciably along various fiscal parameters amid a slowdown at the national level, Haryana Finance Minister Harmohinder Singh Chattha did not levy any fresh taxes while presenting the Budget for 2013-14 in the Assembly on Friday.

To achieve the objective of “Faster, Inclusive and Sustainable Growth” in the 12th Five Year Plan, Mr. Chattha proposed an outlay of Rs.27,071.32 crore, which included an Annual Plan of Rs.18,000 crore, which was 24 per cent higher than in the previous fiscal. An additional outlay of Rs.2,352.65 crore through Centrally-sponsored schemes is expected to raise the composite Plan outlay to Rs.20,352.65 crore.

BAHRAICH:As many as 63,000 toilets would be constructed under BharatNirmalAbhiyan in Devipatan division.