Bhilwara SDM's order 'No toilet, no electricity' revoked after CMO intervention

A day after Bhilawara district officials furnished a stringent order which said ‘No toilet, no electricity’ to make villages open defecation free (ODF), Chief Minister's office revoked the order on Sunday.

Villagers in Gangithala in Rajasthan's Bhilwara district were recently asked to build toilets to ensure they receive electricity supply to their homes. In the bizarre order, that has now been revoked by Collector and Chief Minster's office, Jahazpur sub-divisional magistrate Kartar Singh instructed the discom officials to disconnect electricity supply to the village after 15 days if they do not construct toilets.

The order issued by SDM (which is now revoked ) said, "Only 19% of the villagers -- 322 of 1556 households -- have constructed toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission launched on October 2, 2014. A majority of the villagers defecate in the open though officials have made them understand its harmful effects. The villagers have been given 15 days’ time to construct toilets; if they do not construct toilets and defecate in the open, then power supply should be cut off".

However, Bhilwara district Collector Muktanand Agarwal, who stated the order as harsh, said that we need to motivate people and stringent actions won't help alone. "We have revoked the orders and asked the Discom officials not to disconnect the order." Sources at Chief Minister's office confirmed that order has been revoked and SDM has also been called upon.

The  SDM issued the order on Saturday after he and his team went to the Piplund village on an inspection and convinced a few not to defecate in the open. He sent six villagers to police custody for resisting the drive. The villagers reportedly refused to be persuaded into agreeing that they would not go out for open defecation. They were only released after signing a bail bond of  Rs 10,000 each and agreeing to build toilets in their homes in 15 days and start using them.

Of the 384 panchayats in Bhilwara district, 190 are ODF. The district administration, which has constructed 20,000 toilets this year, has to build 1.60 lakh more to make Bhilwara ODF.