10 crore houses in rural India do not have toilets: Official

Kolkata: Around 10 crore households in rural India do not have toilets for which the government will need to spend Rs 1,50,000 crore to eliminate open defecation by 2022, a top government official said on Tuesday.

"Around 40 per cent houses in rural India have access to toilets now and our aim is to end open defecation by 2022," Sujoy Majumdar, Director of the Department of drinking water and sanitation, told reporters here on the sidelines of a FICCI event. He said out of 18 crore households in rural India, approximately 10 crore were without toilets for which Rs 1,50,000 crore would be needed. Under the current Five-year plan, Rs 38,000 crore has been allocated by the Centre while the state governments have contributed Rs 15,000 crore. On drinking water supply in rural areas, the official said their target is to ensure 90 per cent coverage by 2022 for which funds of Rs 3,00,000 crore would be needed.