November 15, 2001

    Sanitation is one of the basic amenities people must have as it has direct link to food hygiene, personal hygiene domestic as well as environmental hygiene. Good sanitation practices prevent contamination of water and soil, and thereby prevent disease.

    The Restructured Central Rural Sanitation Programme moves away from that the principle of State-wise allocations primarily based on poverty criteria to a "demand-driven" approach. States are required to formulate Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) projects in identified pilot districts. The Programme is implemented as community led and people oriented. A demand driven approach is adopted with increased stress on awareness building and meeting the demand with alternate delivery mechanisms.

    Under the Total Sanitation Campaign 200 districts have been allocated to State/Union Terrorists all over the country.

    The Ministry of Rural Development has released Rs.47.42 lakh to Pondicherry district to Union Territory of Pondicherry and Rs.26.76 to Sirmour district of Himachal Pradesh under the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) during 2001-2002.

    The Ministry has also released an amount of Rs.1 lakh as first instalment out of the total allocation of Rs.2.01 lakh to the State Government of Sikkim under the Restructured Central Rural Sanitation Programme for the year 2001-2002.