India is well on its way to achieving the target of 67 lakh toilets before October 2019, said Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (I/C) for Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, during the inaugural of National WASH Innovation Summit in New Delhi on Tuesday.

“It gives me immense pleasure to share that under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), over 60 lakh household toilets & over 4 lakh community toilets have been built in urban areas and we are well on our way to achieving the target of 67 lakh toilets before October 2019,” the minister said.

“MoHUA is driven by the goal to provide adequate urban infrastructure and services that can ensure the development of healthy Indian cities where all our population can lead productive lives,” Puri added.

India is moving ahead in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector with a vision and strategy, which is being reflected in the Government’s flagship programmes like Swachh Bharat Mission, Puri said at the summit, which was attended by who’s who of India’s WASH sector.

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“Before 2014, India did not fully realise and acknowledge the scale and pace of urbanisation… We neglected the urbanisation space since Independence, as we thought that India is a predominantly rural country,”

... the Minister stated at the inaugural of National Innovation Summit 2018 held on Tuesday.