An ambitious plan is on the anvil to take the message of sanitation to every door step in villages. The objective will be to make the country free from open defecation free in 10 years.

To push the agenda forward, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has written a letter to Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad suggesting that the services of around eight lakh women volunteers of National Rural Health Mission can be utilized to promote awareness on sanitation in rural areas.

Ramesh said that his Ministry can also consider giving financial incentives every month to the Accredited Social Health Activist workers, ASHAS, for motivating villagers to build toilets.

He said the Ministry is ready to give them a performance based incentive of 75 rupees per toilet built.