Under the Pradhan Mantri Swachh Bharat Yojana, the government provides a subsidy to poor rural households, for the construction of toilets.

Incentive, as provided under the scheme for construction of Individual Household Latrines (IHHL), has been extended to all Below Poverty Line (BPL) Households and Above Poverty Line Households (APL) restricted to SCs/STs, Small and Marginal farmers, Landless Labourers with homestead, Differently Abled and Women Headed 

A duly completed household sanitary latrine unit shall comprise i) a sanitary substructure (that safely confines human feces and eliminates the need for human handling before it is fully decomposed), ii) a superstructure facility, and iii) a hand wash unit for cleaning and handwashing. The Mission aims to ensure that all rural families have access to safe toilets and therefore safe technology options are an important component of toilet choice. There are various safe sanitation technologies available like the Twin Pit, Septic Tank with soak pit, Eco-san, and toilets amongst others. The Ministry encourages the promotion of Twin-Pit technology for most parts of the country, however, states may look to develop other safety technologies as well, and States shall disseminate information about available technologies and their costs to the beneficiary to enable him/her to make an informed choice.

“Clarification regarding availability of water for toilets – It is desired that facility for water storage, handwashing, and cleaning of toilets, if not already there, maybe created/strengthened along with the traction toilet. As sanitation is primarily behavioral and demand-driven this includes behavior for hygiene as well. Many households may already have provision for water within the house or nearby places, and it suffices if the person uses the same for toilet purposes and there remains no need for him to invest in a separate water storage facility such as a tank or wash basin along with constructing a toilet. Prescribing a specific structure leads to an apply-driven approach and the user may not use the same, leading to wasteful expenditure. It is therefore clarified that while the lability of water for toilet needs be for, the choice of the toilet structure may be left to the beneficiary/community.”

(MDWS Ltr No.S-18/10/2015-SBM, dated 20.07.2015)