VELLORE: Thirteen villages in the district have been selected to receive the Nirmal Gram Puraskar Award for the year 2010-11 under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. A ‘Nirmal Gram’ is an ‘Open Defecation-Free’ village, where all houses, schools and anganwadis have sanitary facilities like toilets and the community is aware of the importance of personal hygiene.The Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) by the Ministry is a comprehensive programme to ensure that rural areas have sanitation facilities. The broader goal of the program is to eradicate the practice of open defecation. To make TSC’s efforts effective, the Government of India in October 2003 initiated an incentive scheme named the Nirmal Gram Puraskar (NGP). NGP is awarded to those “open defecation free” Nirmal Gram panchayats, blocks, and districts, which have achieved 100 per cent sanitation.A total of 88 villages in the district have received the NGP since its inception in 2004-05. The first NGP was received by a village in Vellore district in 2004-05, two villages in 2005-06, 11 villages in 2006-07, 63 villages in 2007-08, two in 2008-09 and nine in 2009-10.For this year, out of the 94 villages recommended for the award, 13 have been selected. They are: Samanthikuppam in Alangayam block, Karungali and Karadikudi (Anaicut block), Olakasi (Gudiyattam), Lakkinayakanpatti, Narsampatti (Kandili), Makanipattu, Nandimangalam (Kaveripakkam), Sankarapuram (Natrampalli), Chokkarishikuppam (Pernambut), Jambukulum, Paramasathu and Pulivalam (Sholinghur). The village presidents of these villages will receive the award from the President of India.
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