Afroz Ahmed of Tehatta is afraid of relieving himself in the open these days.

The 54-year-old man is scared his face would appear on the "wall of shame".

If anyone is caught defecating in the open despite having toilets of his own, his photograph will be put up on a "wall of shame" in the village. He will also lose his benefits under government schemes.

The Nadia administration has been working hard to become the first district in the country to earn the "open defecation-free" status, ahead of the national deadline of 2019.

The district has taken up a project called Sabar Souchagar (toilet for all) and has already constructed 3.25 lakh toilets. The target is 3.39 lakh toilets.

The administration has formed 3,320 "civic committees" at the grassroots to keep a watch that nobody defacates in the open.

"We have issued a notice that even after having a toilet, if anyone is found defecating in the open, the district administration will suspend his government aid and benefits under schemes like the MNREGA and he would no longer be entitled to facilities under the BPL card. Their benefits would only be restored when they start using the toilets," said district magistrate P.B. Salim.

"The civic vigilance committees have been directed to take photographs of such persons and paste the photographs on a particular wall. We have called it the 'wall of shame'. This will be done to create a sense of... embarrassment for the person so that he never dares to defecate in the open," Salim said.

No photograph has gone up on the wall so far.

Asked if the administration can impose such steps as shaming people and temporarily denying them government benefits, a senior state government official said: "The DM should take legal opinion on whether such steps would amount to violation of human rights or not and then take measures."

"Absence of toilets and availability of water are two basic reasons for people defecating in public. But there are a number of people who prefer it for other reasons," he said.

Social scientist and environment activist Bibartan Bhattacharjee said the initiative was "praiseworthy enough", but at the same time the administration "cannot humiliate a person for defecating in the open. The administration cannot overnight change their habits. Instead of threatening people with punishment, like putting their names in the 'wall of shame', the administration should have the patience to make them aware. It might take time, but will bring a permanent result," he said.

"A large section of people in rural areas are still prejudiced against using toilets.... During monsoon many villagers are forced to stack grains inside toilets. So, unless such people have good houses, the toilet project will not be successful," he added.

Salim said the administration had "engaged schoolchildren for developing awareness" against open defacation. "We knew that just by constructing toilets, the habit cannot be changed overnight."