Only 54% of the target to build household toilets in urban areas in 2015-16 was achieved, while the figure recorded in the community and public toilets category was 68%. According to data submitted by the Urban Development Ministry to the Lok Sabha, only 13.2 lakh individual household toilets were built, as against the target of 25 lakh. Work on 24.6 lakh more such toilets has begun and is expected to pick up pace this financial year, the ministry said.

The construction of both individual and community toilets is crucial to ensure complete sanitation in urban areas, especially to bring an end to open defecation in cities, as part of the Swachh Bharat, or Clean India, mission, The Times of India reported. While Gujarat accounted for more than one-third of the household toilets constructed last year, Andhra Pradesh is set to become the first state to make its open urban areas defecation-free by October 2. As many as 11 states did not report even a single such toilet as completed, whereas Uttar Pradesh recorded an improvement with 1.78 lakh constructed toilets.

Merely 68,500 of the target of one lakh toilets in the community and public toilet category were reported completed in all states and Union Territories. Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh fared better than other states, of which nine reported zero completion of the projects. Work had begun for 1.4 lakh such toilets, the ministry said.