Lucknow/Kannauj
The keys to 305 community toilets in the gram panchayats of Kannauj district, Uttar Pradesh, about 123 kilometres from the state capital Lucknow, were recently handed over to 118 women from self-help groups (SHGs) who will look after their running and upkeep. They will earn Rs 6,000 a month for this, and, in addition, get another Rs 3,000 towards keeping the toilets clean and functional.
In October last year, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated, virtually, 18,847 new community toilets, and laid the foundation of a further 35,058 community toilets under the National Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) and MGNREGA Convergence, at an approximate cost of Rs 7,035 million. The chief minister had stated that community toilets were being built in about 59,000 gram panchayats and women from SHGs would be tasked with the job of keeping them clean and working. He announced that they would be paid a monthly remuneration of Rs 6,000.
“I am happy I have been selected to look after a community toilet. I got this opportunity because I am a part of an SHG,” Preeti of Saraya Dayamganj village in Chhibramau block of the district, told Gaon Connection. Sunita Devi, another beneficiary of the initiative from Akbarpur village in Chhibramau block, said she was proud to be a part of the Swachata Mission and resolved to keep the toilet under her charge clean and running well.
“There will be no money charged to use the community toilets; the gram panchayats will have total discretion on the matter,” Jitendra Kumar Mishra, the district panchayat raj officer told Gaon Connection, speaking about the 305 community toilets already handed over to the women of SHGs in Kannauj district.
Women at work
Members of the SHGs are being encouraged to take up employment under various initiatives of the government, said Rakesh Kumar Mishra, district magistrate of Kannauj. Besides the community toilet scheme, women are being recruited to discharge various tasks that would help them earn a livelihood, he added.
Many of them distribute dry rations in the villages and also go door-to-door collecting electricity bills. “For each bill up to two thousand rupees, they get a commission of twenty rupees. For anything above that, they earn one per cent of the amount,” explained Mishra.
Many of them are already looking after ration shops (kotedar). “If any ration quota licence is cancelled, it will be allotted to women from self-help groups,” Kailash Singh Rajput, MLA of Tirwa, told Gaon Connection.
“They are also being recruited as bank sakhis. According to Mishra, the women will provide villagers banking assistance such as opening bank accounts and helping them transact.
To this end, 45 women in Kannauj district have been issued identity cards and contract letters for recovery of electricity bills. “Three women of a self-help group were also provided with fair price seller’s license,” Shivbihari, the district mission manager of State Livelihood Mission, informed Gaon Connection.
The women belonging to self-help groups were issued contracts for looking after community toilets, handling fair price shops and recovering electricity bills. At the same time, nearly Rs 30 million was granted under community investment funds under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) as a grant to help SHGs and their members improve their quality of life.
