Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Gopal Bhargava on Saturday said roping in of eunuchs into the cleanliness drive under the 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' across the state has yielded encouraging results.
"We have roped in more than 200 members of the third gender including a former mayor and ex-MLA in the cleanliness drive. And their involvement has borne fruits," Bhargava told reporters.
He said that were not charging a penny from the government and are voluntarily working towards making MP a clean state.
Bhargava said that with the help of eunuchs, the problem of open defecation has become a thing of the past as they actively campaigned against the social evil.
Also, eunuchs are glad to have been approached for an initiative involving social good.
In a novel step, each eunuch has been assigned 15 villages to spread the message of cleanliness, sanitation and hygiene, he said.
Besides, Self Help Groups (SHG) too were given a target to build three lakh toilets in the state.
The third gender has also been involved in the ambitious 'School Chalo Abhiyan' to enhance enrolment in schools at primary and other levels.
The Minister also informed that in order to address the problem of lack of toilet facilities in households, the government has decided to provide homes with a toilet to newly wed brides under the Kanyadaan Yojna besides other goods.
For connecting each and every village with an all-weather road, it has been decided that Rural Road Development Authority (RRDA) will construct roads in villages with a population of 500 and above while for levels below that, Rural Engineering Services will build roads under Chief Minister Gramin Sadak Yojna (CMGSY) which has been constituted on the lines of PMGSY.
