An official of the Bulandshahr district administration in Uttar Pradesh was suspended after tiles with images of Mahatma Gandhi and the Ashok Chakra symbol were found installed in toilets built as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday.
The district administration suspended Rural Development Officer Santosh Kumar. Village pradhan Savitri Devi was served a notice and her development fund account was frozen, The Times of India reported. The block pramukh was also served a notice.
District Panchayat Raj officer Amarjeet Singh said 508 toilets were built under the Swachh Bharat Mission in Icchawari village of Dibai tehsil in the district. “It was found that 13 of those toilets had tiles with symbols of Mahatma Gandhi and Ashok Chakra,” Singh said.
Villagers had informed the district administration about the tiles on Monday. They were reportedly installed a week ago. Singh said the tiles, which were purchased from a local market, were removed immediately after it was brought to the attention of the district administration, ANI reported.
In September 2018, the Madhya Pradesh High Court had directed the state government to remove tiles with the images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan installed in houses constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
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