1 Rafale fighter = 1,000 village panchayats free from open-defecation

[SpArK]

Reduce defence budget, fund toilets: Jairam Ramesh
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NEW DELHI: Even as his drinking water and sanitation department tied up with DRDO on Thursday to set up bio-digestor toilets in 1,000 village panchayats across the country, Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh could not resist taking a couple of jocular swipes at the huge annual funds allocated to the defence ministry.

Just the cost of a single Rafale fighter — MoD is finalizing the acquisition of 126 of these French jets in the almost $20 billion MMRCA project — could make 1,000 village panchayats ``free from open-defecation'', said Ramesh.

MoD got Rs 1.93 lakh crore allocation this fiscal, while the rural development budget was only Rs 99,000 crore, he added, taking recourse to the long-running "guns versus bread'' debate.

Defence minister A K Antony, triggering guffaws from the audience, retorted that DRDO would certainly provide his ministry with the bio-toilet technology, but it was up to Ramesh to ensure the requisite funding as well as collaboration from state governments, other local bodies and NGOs for installation of the eco-friendly toilets. ``Money provided in the budget for defence is for national security,'' he said.

Ramesh quickly clarified that while it was necessary to spend on the country's defence, he only wanted the myriad technologies developed by DRDO to also benefit the society at large. The aim is to make 1,000 panchayats open-defecation free by installing the bio-toilets, originally developed by DRDO for soldiers deployed in high-altitude areas, over the next few years.

"Broadly, in Phase-I, one lakh bio-digestor toilets will be installed in 300 gram panchayats over the next two years at a cost of Rs 150 crore. Phase-II and Phase-III will then follow,'' said Ramesh.

Similarly, all existing 50,000 coaches of the Indian Railways — which is the "largest open toilet in the world'' with 11 million passengers daily - are likely to be retrofitted with the bio-toilets at a cost of around Rs 500 crore in five years.

Minister of state for statistics and programme implementation Srikant Kumar Jena suggested he would bring about amendments in the MPLADS guidelines so that funds can be released to MPs to provide the bio-toilets in their constituencies.


Reduce defence budget, fund toilets: Jairam Ramesh - The Times of India


Yes this is a banned topic, but nonetheless a debatable topic.

The focus is not purchase of equipment s that defend the nation or the usual swipe at hygiene but the low spending on rural development by the Govt.

 

[OrionHunter]

Agreed that 1 Rafale fighter = 1,000 village panchayats free from open-defecation. But then you can't use these toilets for air interception and interdiction in enemy territory. Unless you can invent dual purpose flying toilets that can bomb the crap out of the enemy with their shitty weapon load-outs!!

 

[MINK]

So, the Govt. will use the taxpayers' money to build toilets for other people to sh!t??? Ridiculous!

 

[Markus]

Jairam Ramesh is right that more money should be pumped into sanitation but that additional money cant come by reducing defence budget, it must come from somewhere else, maybe like stopping the unwanted Haj subsidy and diverting the money into sanitation.

The govt. should find many other such sources where its imply wasting money and they all should be diverted to sanitation.

 

[Kyusuibu Honbu]

The question how many of them in villages want to use toilets.

According the a British investigation about their aid, significant amount of people Toilets was not a priority.


International Development Select Committee Inquiry into British Aid to India

however, a survey of 7 districts found over twice as manyhouseholds with televisions as with toilets and the same proportion with mobile phones, indicating that for many households sanitation has been a lowpriority rather than unaffordable.

I think we must concentrate on awareness programs first.

 

[Roybot]

Jairam Ramesh is right that more money should be pumped into sanitation but that additional money cant come by reducing defence budget, it must come from somewhere else, maybe like stopping the unwanted Haj subsidy and diverting the money into sanitation.

The govt. should find many other such sources where its imply wasting money and they all should be diverted to sanitation.

Or maybe he can ask Congress ministers to stop scamming public money. How many billions have we lost in these scams? We could have built toilets for the whole world with that sorta money.

 

[SpArK]

Jairam Ramesh is right that more money should be pumped into sanitation but that additional money cant come by reducing defence budget, it must come from somewhere else, maybe like stopping the unwanted Haj subsidy and diverting the money into sanitation.

My point too.. India has some super rich who could very well spare a little which is still millions of dollars/ruppees that can easily sponser few thousands of villages..

Sometimes a little communism is needed in some grey areas.

 

[Markus]

Or maybe he can ask Congress ministers to stop scamming public money. How many billions have we lost in these scams? We could have built toilets for the whole world with that sorta money.

No way.

Corruption and scams are the bith-right of all politicians.

How dare you talk of denying them their right ?

 

[KRAIT]

What will we do if we have to defend our skies.....throw s***on them by bofors....

Idiot minister....Roybot is right, why not bring Indian black money, why everyone is silent on it.

 

[Kyusuibu Honbu]

flying toilets that can bomb the crap out of the enemy with their shitty weapon load-outs!!
[/B]

Trying to picture this part

 

[arp2041]

This is BS argument, considering a country like India which is always attacked by outside forces since centuries & fought 5 wars since it's independence, defence is the department of highest priority, this comparison is time & again is of no value. We are one of the lowest spenders on defence in terms of percentage of GDP (just 2%), wonder why din't he compared the figures to the India's biggest scam of 1.76 lakh crores??

+ this is the same minister who sometime back stopped many border infrastructural projects in the name of environment & really threatened our security vis-a-vis China.

+ what the hell we will do with sanitation etc. when there will be no country left (in case attacked by enemies).

+ thanks to these ministers, our enemies don't need to send there armies to fight India, Indians are fighting among themselves.

 

[Markus]

My point too.. India has some super rich who could very well spare a little which is still millions of dollars/ruppees that can easily sponser few thousands of villages..

Sometimes a little communism is needed in some grey areas.


My point too.. India has some super rich who could very well spare a little which is still millions of dollars/ruppees that can easily sponser few thousands of villages..



Sometimes a little communism is needed in some grey areas.

Many India corporates are already supporting govt. in taking care of their villages...Reliance does it for sure.

We need more Public private investment into this.

 

[KRAIT]

This is BS, considering a country like India which is always attacked by outside forces since centuries & fought 5 wars since it's independence, defence is the department of highest priority, this comparison is time & again is of no value. We are one of the lowest spenders on defence in terms of percentage of GDP (just 2%), wonder why din't he compared the figures to the India's biggest scam of 1.76 lakh crores??

You forgot 10.7 lakh crore Coal Scam...

 

[Sher Malang]

Why he just can't realize that defense of countries is more important than hiding sh*t the quality of ministers nowadays

 

[SpArK]

Discussion is not about how much we spend on defence ( we have already done it thousand times in forum) but on why the spending in rural is still dwarfed.

We must admit we have failed in awareness as told by syams ayas, failed to bring black money,curb bureaucrcy and failed in arresting corruption.

Lets focus on how the rural sector can be revived and brought on par reflecting with the not so bad economy of ours.