-The Indian Express In Sukma, 49 of 146 gram panchayats are registered as “inaccessible”. In Dantewada and Kondagaon districts, 30 of 83 and 15 of 99 districts are inaccessible according to data collected by the government in October 2017. Bijapur / Sukma (Bastar): Mangal Ram doesn’t understand why the question. All his 60 years, the answer to where he goes to relieve himself has always been the same, he says: “The jungle”....

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The central government will launch six pilot projects for clean drinking water supply in villages under 'Swajal Project; one each in Uttarakhand, UP, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. The project will involve locals in civil work and maintenance of the system. Piloted as a "by the people, for the people, of the people" project, the drinking Water and Sanitation ministry will pay 90% of...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Every household in India will get a proper toilet and the entire country will be open-defecation free (ODF) much before the Modi government faces election next year, top government functionaries said. This is the biggest flagship programme led by the PM. While urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said his ministry will hit the target a year before the October 2019 deadline, the sanitation ministry...

-Down to Earth The report emphasises the need to normalise menstruation by looking at behaviour, infrastructure, politics and perception In an aim to make India open defecation-free by 2019, many aspects of sanitation have been undermined, such as usage, maintenance and water availability. A 2015 report by Dasra, a Mumbai-based philanthropy foundation and the Bank of America highlights another key aspect ignored when it comes to sanitation. According to the report based on data...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: During the last two years, the government collected more than Rs 16,400 crore as Swachh Bharat cess, meant to fund sanitation schemes, but the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has pointed out nearly a quarter of the collection has stayed outside the dedicated fund. While collections through the 0.5% cess on all services was meant to be transferred to a non-lapsable Rashtriya Swachhta Kosh, over Rs...