Need a passport? Build a toilet at home first – new Indian rule
October 21, 2016
Applicants won’t be able to get a passport in a Madhya Pradesh district in India if they don’t have a toilet at home.
In their latest attempt to prevent open defecation as part of the ‘Swachh Bharat’ mission, authorities in the Katni district in Madhya Pradesh will only issue passports to residents if they can prove they have a toilet at home, Indian media reported.
Most of the rural population in the state of Madhya Pradesh defecates in the open. The problem is also chronic in the state of Bihar, where family members of 72.9% households in rural areas don't use toilets, according to the Swachhta Status Report 2016.
