Aurangabad: The civic body has decided to deploy 500 personnel from Wednesday morning onwards in its endeavour to check the practice of open defecation. The Aurangabad Municipal Corporation was given a target of constructing 7,000 toilets as part of the Swachha Bharat Abhiyan to discourage open defecation. However, it has not achieved the target so far.Municipal commissioner D M Mugalikar said 28 teams have been formed, which will move around the affected areas to reason with people to avoid open defecation and construct toilets on their premises. The staff would also guide people on how to avail of the government scheme under which Rs 12,000 is provided for construction of toilets.Mugalikar, however, pointed out that the beneficiary could get Rs 15000, as the general body of the AMC has recently decided to contribute Rs 3,000 for the work since it was difficult to build a toilet for Rs 12,000. The financial assistance will be provided in three instalments, to ensure that the toilets are constructed.Mugalikar said the civic body has also prepared a list of 500 beneficiaries, who obtained the first instalment, but did not start the work in the specified time.The civic chief also informed newsmen about the outcome of a meeting on smart cities held in Delhi. The officials and municipal commissioners of cities that have been selected under the smart city project attended the meeting.Addressing the meeting, Union urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu asked the officials to immediately start the process to make their cities smart.On the Beed bypass issue, in which the civic body was taken to task by the high court, Mugalikar said they would issue fresh notices to 113 property holders, including the ones who encroached upon the land. "We would conduct a hearing and then, following the norms, would start demolition drive to make room for the service road," he added.

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