Behold! Goa has overnight turned itself into an Open Defecation-free State. The State government, by virtue of this declaration, has turned the Swachh Bharat mission into a farce. The term “open defecation-free” (ODF) is used to describe communities that have shifted to using a toilet instead of open defecation. But where are the toilets? And how can a State declare itself as ODF without them?
The ground situation hasn’t moved an inch. The capital city of Panaji and several other panchayats till now don’t have the infrastructure in place. Government has bulldozed its way through and Sarpanchas have been virtually forced to sign declarations that they have achieved ODF targets. Surprisingly, even in Panchayat Minister Mauvin Godinho’s constituency of Dabolim which houses migrant colonies and which is a glaring example of any open defecation, has been given a clean chit. It is a shame to pride ourselves of ODF status when you see migrants continuing with their daily visit to answer nature’s call out in the open with a small water container in tow. Welcome to Zuarinagar, Mauvin’s neighbourhood which is the capital of Goa’s open defecation. And this is an area which virtually every tourist visiting the State from the airport passes through.
Incidentally, Goa has the distinction of finishing last in declaring itself as ODF and that goes to show the seriousness behind this mission. With this kind of manipulation, it now appears that Goa can achieve almost any target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. And now we understand why the single-use plastic ban, the target of which is set for Oct 2, is very easily achievable.
The ODF challenge assumes humongous proportions in Goa, simply because there are varied issues at hand. If setting up infrastructure is a problem, there are land and tenancy issues which make the job even tougher. ODF doesn’t mean that Goa needs to have a toilet at every kilometer, but in simple terms, it has to provide enough toilet facilities eliminating use of open spaces. Several panchayats, both in Tiswadi and Salcete and other talukas had expressed helplessness in declaring their villages ODF on the ground that there is no infrastructure in place. The bio-digester toilets which people had applied for have not been installed.
The ground situation remains very grim and it will take nothing less than another six months for the government to get it on track. The existing Sulabh Shauchalayas built during the earlier Manohar Parrikar regime are in pathetic condition and the public toilets in cities are falling woefully short in meeting the requirement.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has given a false projection of Goa to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has to reconcile with the ground conditions and show genuine interest. Distributing toilets alone will not make Goa ODF, there are various other factors. Minister for Solid Waste Management Michael Lobo was speaking about issuing challans for those found defecating in the open. That will not solve Goa’s problem too, even as we wonder how authorities will go about tracking these violators. It’s time government gets serious about ODF and feels the pulse of the people of Goa.
