Speech By Her Excellency The President Of India, Shrimati Pratibha Devisingh Patil At The Presentation Of Nirmal Gram Puraskar To The Panchayati Raj Institutions

Ladies And Gentlemen,

I Am Very Happy To Be Present At The Nirmal Gram Puraskar Function. I Congratulate The Awardees For The Success That They Have Achieved In Attaining Full Sanitation In Their Panchayats. The Total Sanitation Campaign Launched By The Ministry Of Rural Development Is A Unique Tool For Community Mobilization, And It Is An Affirmation That Working Together, The Objective Of Clean Villages Can Be Achieved. I Am Informed That Representatives Of Panchayats Are Present Here And I Welcome This Opportunity To Speak With Them On Issues Of Rural Development Alongwith Those Relating To Sanitation.

The Village Is The Basic Social, Economic And Political Unit Of Our Country. We Have Over 6 Lakh Villages In The Country And Close To 70 Percent Of Our Population Lives In Rural Areas. A March Forward Of Our Villages Is A March Forward For Millions Of Our Citizens Residing There. Rural Prosperity Is Important For The Progress Of Our Country, As Well As For Building An Inclusive Society, And For Achieving An Inclusive Growth Agenda. Villages Will Progress When These Shall Be Clean; Every House Will Be Clean; And When Every Mind Will Be Clean, The Village Will Progress. All Of You May Know That Mahatma Gandhi Said That The Heart Of Our Nation Beats In Our Villages, And Our Villages Are The Soul Of Our Nation. It Is Essential To Keep This Soul Clean, As Then Our Lives Will Be Happy. Cleanliness Is Next To Godliness, So Cleanliness Is Very Important. I Am Confident That You Shall Achieve This Goal. I Congratulate The Women Who Are With Us Today From Nagaland, For Bringing About Village Cleanliness. You May Have Observed That The Award Winners Are Not Only Men But Also Women. Women Are Involved In This Work, And If More Women Take Part, Then National Development Will Not Take Long. Men And Women Need To Work Together. I Always Say That When Women Ask For Their Rights, This Does Not Mean They Are Opposed To Men. A Healthy Society Will Be Created, When Men And Women Work Together. A Chariot Has Two Wheels. The Two Wheels Represent Men And Women. Society Will Progress, When The Two Wheels Move Together. Men And Women Have To Work Together, As We Have A Long Road Ahead. Women, Therefore, Have To Be Educated.

Rural Development Should Be Done In A Manner That Villages Become Progressive Economic Units And Agricultural Productivity Is Increased. The Progress Of Every Village Is, Therefore, Very Important. Issues About The Welfare Of Farmers And Farming Operations Must Always Remain On Our Radar. The Location Of Agro-industries And Other Productive Activities In Rural Areas Create Linkages Between The Agricultural And Industrial Sectors, Which Has Manifold Advantages. There Are Many Examples Of Companies Who Have Worked In Rural India And Achieved Success. I Would Call On The Ministry Of Rural Development To Look At Such Examples, And Discuss With Farmers And Panchayats The Feasibility And Possibilities Of Enterprising Ways Of Organizing Agricultural Activities, And Engaging With The Other Sectors Of The Economy. It Would Also Be Well To Remember, That A Clean Village Is As Important As A Productive Village. Hence, Sanitation Issues Are As Important As Development Issues.

Panchayats, As Elected Bodies At The Grassroots Level, Have Direct Contact With People, And They Play A Multi-faceted Role In Rural Development. Their Involvement In Developmental Programmes Leads To Better Implementation At The Ground Level. They Understand The Problems Of Villagers And Farmers, Their Requirements And Local Issues. They Can Be Centres For Information As Well. I Have Often Spoken Of Panchayats Functioning As "Knowledge Kiosks" For Dissemination Of Information About Government Programmes And Policies, As Well As Of New And Better Farming Technology, And For Creating Awareness. Cleanliness And Hygiene Are Among The Issues That Require Wide-spread Awareness. Therefore, Proper Training And Information Upgradation Of Panchayat Members Should Be Constantly And Vigorously Taken Up.

Every Civilization From Early Times Has Emphasized Basic Sanitation. Lack Of Sanitation Has Had Major Repercussions - There Have Been Epidemics Of Diseases In Which Many People Have Died Or Have Been Enfeebled. In India, The Father Of Our Nation, Gandhiji Himself Was A Very Vocal Advocate Of Sanitation. He Laid Much Emphasis On Cleanliness, And At One Time Even Remarked That Sanitation Is More Important Than Independence. Recognizing Sanitation As A Basic Necessity For Human Dignity And Welfare, I Am Glad That The Total Sanitation Programme Is Being Implemented In Our Rural Areas In A Focused Manner, And It Has Achieved Considerable Success. Rural Sanitation In India Which Was As Abysmally Low As 1 Percent In 1980 Reached About 21 Percent In 2001 And Is Now Around 70 Percent. I Look Forward To The Day When This Coverage Touches 100 Percent. For This, A Lot Of Work Still Remains To Be Done. I Am Confident That All Of You Will Be Able To Do So By Working Together.

Sanitation Requires Good Planning And Proper Execution. Even When We Have 100 Percent Coverage, Our Task Will Not Be Complete. The Effort Then Will Be To Ensure That Toilets Remain Functional And People Continue To Use Them. For Their Sustainability, There Should Be A Monitoring Mechanism For Ensuring Functionality And Also A Proper Disposal System. Human Waste Needs To Be Treated In A Way That It Does Not Contaminate Either Water Or Land. Through Sustainable Technologies, Waste Can Be Utilized For Manure And Biogas Generation. I Am Glad That The Government Is Working On These Lines In This Regard, And Has Not Only Prepared A Ten Year Action Plan, Which Includes Full Toilet Cover By 2015, But Also Has Set A Target Of Attainment Of Personal Hygiene And Solid And Liquid Management Goal In Rural Areas By 2022.

The Total Sanitation Campaign Has An Important Role For Women. Self Help Groups, Mahila Samities And Women's Groups, Can Be Further Encouraged To Take Up Activities For Good Sanitation. I Feel They Should Be Given An Increased Role By Making Them The "Ambassadors Of Sanitation". The Programme Must Be Taken Forward To Include The Sanitary Needs Of Women, Especially Adolescent Girls In Villages And Schools.

Another Area Of Focus Should Be The Sanitation Needs Of Infants And Children. As The Programme Covers Anganwadi Workers, They Should Motivate Children To Adopt Good Sanitary Habits. Similarly, Schools Are The Key Points For Inculcating Good Sanitation And Hygiene Habits In Students. Health And Good Hygiene Behaviour At An Early Stage In Children Can Ensure A Generational Change. Children Are Our Biggest Human Resource And By Giving Them The Knowledge And Social Responsibility, We Can Raise A Healthy Generation. They Should Be Taught That Toilets Are Part Of The House And Of A School And, Thus It Must Have The Same Level Of Cleanliness As In The Rest Of The House And As In The Classrooms. There Should Be A Code Of Conduct For The Use Of Toilets As These Are Used By Others Also. When You Leave It After Use, Leave It Clean For The Next User. You Should Not Feel Hesitant In Cleaning The Toilet; Mahatma Gandhi Himself Taught Us This. Also Inculcating Simple Habits In Children Like Properly Washing Their Hands With Soap Before Eating Can Greatly Reduce Infections. In India On An Average About 1000 Children Die Every Day Due To Diarrhea Related Diseases. Hence, It Is Essential To Integrate Hygiene Issues Into The Fields Of Public Health Policies, Education And Community Welfare.

The Nirmal Gram Puraskar Has Become An Integral Part Of Bringing Improvement In The General Quality Of Life In Rural Areas, And You All Are The Champions Of Sanitation. I Am Sure That The Award Winning Panchayat Pradhans Will Continue To Maintain The Status Of Nirmal Gram, In A Sustainable Way And Also Encourage Other Gram Pradhans To Achieve The 'nirmal' Status. Moreover, Actively Campaign In Your Areas To Motivate People In Maintaining A Clean Environment. Good Agriculture And Economic Activities, Good Education, Good Civic Facilities, Good Panchayat Functioning, Good Habits And A Clean And A Neat Village Are The Components Of A Nirmal Village. I Am Sure That All Sarpanchs And Pradhans Shall Take A Keen Interest Towards Making Their Villages 'nirmal' And That May Ultimately Lead To A 'swachh, Swastha Aur Nirmal Bharat'.

I Urge All Of You To Work Together To Realize Total Sanitation, And Assure A Life Of Dignity And Good Health To All Citizens Of Our Country. I Wish All The Success To The Total Sanitation Campaign, And Give My Best Wishes To All The Panchayat Representatives Present Here.

Thank You.

Jai Hind.