Chandigarh, Dec 1 (IANS): The Bharti Foundation Monday announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Sulabh International for construction of 12,000 toilets in rural households across Ludhiana district in Punjab.

Bharti Foundation, the philanthropic arm of telecom giant Bharti Enterprises, has adopted Ludhiana district and committed an investment of Rs.100 crore over the next three years for constructing toilets in rural households lacking such facilities. The toilets will be built in 915 villages across the district.

A spokesperson for Bharti Foundation said that as per the MoU, Sulabh, a social service organisation, will construct 12,000 toilets in households lacking basic sanitation facilities across Ludhiana district in the first phase.

Under the "Satya Bharti Abhiyan", the foundation will also invest in improving sanitation facilities in government schools in rural Ludhiana by building new toilets for girls, where no such facilities exist, the spokesperson said.

Sulabh International is the largest non-profit organization in India.

"As per the MoU, Sulabh will also conduct a survey of the target villages to identify beneficiaries, undertake construction of individual household toilets and carry out information education campaigns over the next 12 months," the spokesperson said.

Bharti Foundation co-chairman Rakesh Bharti Mittal said, "Sulabh has been a pioneer in providing sanitation solutions to the poor in India and we are confident that their expertise in this area will add immense value to this initiative."

"Sanitation for all is a big priority for the country and Bharti Foundation hopes to contribute towards the cause in a meaningful way through this initiative," he added.

Bharti Foundation provides free education to underprivileged children in rural areas. Its programmes reach out to over 52,000 children from socially and economically challenged backgrounds, with special focus on the girl child.