The Centre launched its Total Sanitation Campaign in 2002 to ensure sanitation facilities across rural India with a target that by 2012 the practice of open defecation will be completely eradicated.

But according to the studies conducted by UNICEF, a partner body in the implementation of the campaign, 65 per cent of the population in the state is still defecating in the open. On Friday, the UNICEF launched its report on the “Status of Sanitation in UP”.

According to UNICEF sanitation experts, the main challenge is to ensure that all the quality norms are followed while constructing the toilets.

The Water, Environment and Sanitation expert from UNICEF, Amit Mehrotra said: “We have found that 72 per cent of the toilets constructed in the state are below standard and in the long run their maintenance will become difficult.” According to the norms of the campaign, there should be one trained mason in each village for the construction of toilets. The masons are trained by the Department of Panchayati Raj, under the campaign.

“There are only 16 per cent trained masons, which is why most of the time, the quality of toilets in the villages is really poor,” said Mehrotra. The lack of using correct technology devised under the campaign is another major hurdle for construction of toilets.

“The urban toilet consumes more water. Hence, the Centre and Sulabh International has devised a rural pan,” said Mehrotra. “Interestingly, in UP, 92 per cent of the toilets still use the urban pan, which shows lack of awareness about the correct technology,” he added.