5 more states get urban ODF status

Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday said that Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Haryana have made all their urban areas “open-defecation free”, making it around 36 per cent of the total 4,041 such areas that have reached the milestone. Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Chandigarh were declared ODF last year. 

In a programme organised on the third anniversary of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the minister for housing and urban affairs (independent charge) said about 38 lakh household toilets in urban areas have already been built against a target of 66 lakh, while 14 lakh toilets are under construction, adding that over two lakh community and public toilets have been built, against a target of 5 lakh. 

Stating that solid-waste management would be a focus area now, Puri said efforts are on to generate over 500 MW of electricity and over 50 lakh tonnes of compost from municipal solid waste in order to process the entire solid waste generated in urban areas. The minister added that sanitation is a birth right and individual responsibility as well. 

He informed that the fortnight long ‘Swacchata Hi Sewa’ campaign that concluded on Monday saw participation of over 80 lakh people in urban areas and stressed on the need for ‘life style change’ to realise the objective of Swacch Bharat. 

On Sunday, President Ram Nath Kovind had announced Urban Maharashtra as open defecation-free. The achievement included 384 urban areas across the state. Two years ago, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had taken on the Swachhata pledge, and will now move on to improving awareness in rural areas of the state to achieve ODF status across the state. Fadnavis also said a three-step validation process would now be mandatory to declare an area as ODF.

The road to cleanliness

Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Chandigarh were declared ODF in 2016
Minister for housing and urban affairs (independent charge), Puri said about 38 lakh household toilets in urban areas have already been built against a target of 66 lakh
14 lakh toilets are under construction and over two lakh community and public toilets have been built, against a target of 5 lakh
Solid-waste management will be a focus area now with the aim to generate over 50 lakh tonnes of compost from municipal solid waste