40% of toilets in government schools are filthy and dirty, Chidambaram lashes out at govt over CAG report

- Elsewhere are extremely dirty

New Delhi, 24 September 2020, Thursday

The Comptroller and Accountant General (CAG) said in its report that toilets in schools in 15 states of the country are extremely dirty and filthy. Former Union Minister P Chidambaram slammed the government over the issue of the report.

According to the CAG report, out of every 2326 toilets, 1812 toilets did not have running water. Out of these 1812 toilets, 715 toilets were not cleaned properly. 75% of government school toilets do not have water, soap, etc. That means 40 percent of the toilets were just nominal. It was of no use to the students.

On the issue of the report, former Union Minister P Chidambaram said that the CAG had earlier also received a voice report on toilets in government schools. On the one hand, the Prime Minister is talking about a clean India. On the other hand, toilets in government schools are dirty. So where is the hygiene or public health? He said it was not clear how open defecation was destroyed across the country if 40 per cent of the toilets were inactive. The Prime Minister claimed that open defecation is no longer practiced anywhere in the country. The CAG report says otherwise.

Following the central government's Swachh Bharat campaign, the Swachh Vidyalaya campaign was also launched in 2014. The Centre's education department was constructing toilets in every school. The CAG report claimed that thirty per cent of the toilets could not be used because there was no water supply. Thirty per cent of these schools also have toilets for girls' schools, the CAG said.