Info on 58,000 public toilets available on Google Maps: Puri to Rajya Sabha New Delhi

Information on around 58,000 public toilets across 2,500 cities are w available on Google Maps, which is helping government to maintain public sanitation facilities on a real-time basis, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Friday.

While replying to concerns raised by some of members during a debate in Rajya Sabha over lack of facilities such as water, cleanliness, etc at public toilets, Puri said, "se are all complaints of a bygone era" and almost five years old.

"wadays, information on se toilets are publicly available. (Information on) 58,000 toilets across 2,500 cities are available on Google Maps," Puri said. Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs added that during his field visits in earlier period of his tenure, he had directed officials to provide coordinates of each toilet so that it is accessible on internet.

He has also directed m to make available name of person or official responsible for its cleanliness. "Today, if a toilet is t maintained or if it is t usable n we are able to fix it with use of techlogy on a real-time basis," Puri said, adding "se complaints have decreased considerably."

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Meanwhile, over ban on single-use plastics in country, without citing a timeframe, minister said country would try to achieve it in a "record time".

"That work has assumed great speed and I am very happy to say all parts of our society -- civil society, academia, ministries of government and common citizens, all have taken it to process, and I am very sure that work in terms of objective, will be achieved again in record time," he said.

Union minister said use of Information and Communication Techlogy (ICT) tools and digital mediums is a central part of Swachh Bharat Mission. government had set a target to build 66 lakh individual toilets in urban areas, which covers five crore people, he said.

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Besides, 3 lakh community toilets have also been provided targeting people from an ecomically weaker section and mobile toilets have been made available at places facing lack of , minister said. "We have almost met physical targets but real success of se schemes would be mapped through behavioral changes," he said, adding that from project of a government, it has w become a 'Jan Andolan' (public movement) and it is "clearly visible" w.

He furr added that aim of government is to make Open Defecation Free (ODF) and have scientific solid waste manment. According to him, except one state, entire India is w ODF.

Without naming state, Puri said it would complete target by end of this month. "Rural area is w ODF and as far as urban India is concerned, I am hoping that early in new year, we would be able to declare, entire country ODF based on a third-party verification," he said.

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minister furr said that w government is taking furr steps and is w heading for ODF + and ODF ++ protocol tag. se tags deal with disposal of fecal sludge generated from toilets so that y are safely contained and transported so that water bodies are t contaminated.

Many states and Union Territories have become ODF and "99 percent of our statutory towns, which is 4,320 out of 4,378, have become ODF of which 4,155 have been certified by third party. 720 cities have been certified as ODF + and 288 cities as ODF ++," he added. minister said government would continue to add new targets.

Puri was replying to a private member bill brought by BJP member Prabhat Jha, who had sought incorporation of cleanliness as a fundamental duty of citizen through a constitutional amendment in Article 51A. Jha withdrew Constitution (Amendment) Bill after expressing satisfaction with minister's reply.