Incentive for officials: Build toilets on time, win a trip to Goa
Beat this incentive: build toilets on time and win a trip to Goa.
This is the brainwave of Madhya Pradesh government official Rajkumar Kaithwas, who has decided to sponsor the Goa trip by train for three persons each from three gram panchayats of Bagmar that complete the task the fastest.
Kaithwas, the panchayat coordinating officer in Bagmar sector of Khandwa district, about 285km southwest of state capital Bhopal, announced his incentive last week in a push for Swachh Bharat (Clean India) Mission.
Construction of toilets picked up pace across all 11 gram panchayats in Bagmar after his announcement and also caught the eye of his seniors, who are assessing options to implement the scheme throughout Khandwa.
Kaithwas estimates he will have to spend around ₹1 lakh to sponsor the Khandwa to Goa trip for the nine winners. “The government pays me a good salary, it won’t be a problem,” he said.
On the excitement his offer has triggered, he said, “Leave alone Goa, no one in the area has even seen a sea beach. They are naturally thrilled.”
The winners will be from among sarpanchs, panchayat secretaries and employment assistants. “Execution of the work depends on representatives of these three categories. They work hard to reach targets, but do not get any incentive. I hit upon the idea to sponsor the trip to Goa as an ‘extra’ to motivate them,” said Kaithwas.
Bagmar’s panchayats have less than 40 days to win the Goa trip. Khandwa intends to declare itself as Open Defecation Free by October 2.
“Every sarpanch is holding meetings to motivate people and some are even chipping in with funds. Everyone wants to go to Goa,” said Kaithwas.
Mamta Patel, the employment assistant at Bagmar panchayat, said, “We are all enthused by the offer. Our target was to complete 250 toilets. Now, only 28 remain to be built. I am sure we will be able to complete the work in time.”
District panchayat CEO Varadmurti Mishra commended Kaithwas’ initiative. “I am looking at whether we can somehow implement it in the entire district.”
Offering incentives at a personal level like Kaithwas may not be feasible, but time is running out for Khandwa officials to achieve ODF status.