It sounds astonishing - Rs 150,000 has been spent this fiscal year to build toilets for a population of 6,000 in Tetariya VDC in Morang district. But it is part of a concerted campaign to declare the district an open defecation free area by 2015.

"The villagers are ready to use their development budget for toilet construction and sanitation," says VDC chairman Lila Ram Bastola. "Next year we have a proposal to allocate Rs 350,000 for the same purpose. The aim is to declare the whole area open defecation free." Awareness programs and regulations have been implemented to achieve this.

For instance, the villagers have decided that anyone who wants to obtain citizenship papers must have a toilet in his or her house. "Applicants who don't have a toilet are given a few days to build one. Recommendation for citizenship is given only after we have confirmation that the applicant has a toilet in his home," says Bastola. It is also mandatory for every civil servant and political leader in the village to have toilets in their homes.

"Students who have a toilet in their house are given an extra 10 points in Health class," says Pralad Bhagat, a teacher at Bidhya Mandir Lower Secondary School. "But we deduct 10 points for those who don't have toilet facilities at home."

Two VDCs of the district have already been declared open defecation free. According to Aheb Manoj Mandal of the sub-health post in Tetariya, toilet usage has risen from 2 per cent last year to 48 per cent this year. Initiatives taken by the government and several NGOs have helped bring about this change. "The increase in the use of toilets has also controlled the spread of communicable diseases," says Mandal.

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