Says India hits key sanitation milestone as 75% villages are now ODF Plus
PANAJI
The country has achieved yet another major milestone under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase II with three-fourth of the total villages in the country i.e., 75% villages achieving ODF Plus status under Phase II of the Mission. An ODF Plus village is one which has sustained its Open Defecation Free (ODF) status along with implementing either solid or liquid waste management systems. As on date, more than 4.43 lakh villages have declared themselves ODF Plus, which is a significant step towards achieving the SBM-G phase II goals by 2024-25.
The top performing States/UTs which have achieved 100% ODF Plus villages are – Andaman & Nicobar Islands, D&N Haveli, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Ladakh, Puducherry, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Tripura. Among States/ UTs – Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadra Nagar Haveli & Daman Diu, Jammu & Kashmir and Sikkim have 100% ODF Plus Model villages. These States & UTs have shown remarkable progress in achieving the ODF Plus status, and their efforts have been instrumental in reaching this milestone.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Saturday, the Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has accorded the highest priority to Swachh Bharat Mission since he took charge in 2014 and the entire nation rallied behind the call of the Prime Minister to make ‘Swachhata’ a ‘Jan Andolan’. PM’s vision and mission to make the nation Open Defecation Free by 2019 became a true mass movement and the targets were achieved well before time.
Shekhawat said that based on this vision and mission, SBM-G Phase-II has set the ambitious target of making all villages ODF Plus by 2025. Out of the 4,43,964 ODF Plus villages so far, 2,92,497 villages are ODF Plus Aspiring villages with arrangements for Solid Waste Management or Liquid Waste Management, 55,549 villages are ODF Plus Rising villages with arrangements for both Solid Waste Management and Liquid Waste Management and 96,018 villages are ODF Plus Model villages. Overall, so far, 2,31,080 villages have arrangements for solid waste management, and 3,76,353 villages have arrangements for liquid waste management.
The Union Minister further added that this year marks 9 years of the Swachh Bharat Mission. The achievement of 75% ODF Plus villages is a significant milestone for India, as the country has moved from ODF to ODF Plus in Swachh Bharat Mission Phase II.
The major components of the Phase-II of SBM (G) are Sustaining Open Defecation Free Status (ODF-S), Solid (Bio-degradable) Waste Management, Plastic Waste Management (PWM), Liquid Waste Management (LWM), Faecal Sludge Management (FSM), GOBARdhan, Information Education and Communication/Behavior Change Communication (IEC/BCC) and Capacity Building.
The SBM-G program has been instrumental in improving the health and well-being of millions of people across the country. An ODF Plus Model village is one which is sustaining its ODF status and has arrangements for both Solid Waste Management and Liquid Waste Management; and observes visual cleanliness, i.e., minimal litter, minimal stagnant wastewater, no plastic waste dump in public places; and displays ODF Plus Information, Education & Communication (IEC) messages. As on date, 96,192 villages are ODF Plus Model villages.
Shekhawat stated that the entire budget outlay for SBM Phase II is Rs1.43 lakh crores out of which 52,497 has to come from SBM-G and the remainder has to come from 15th Finance Commission funds (Rs 51,057 cr) and MGNREGA (Rs 24,823 cr). The central share allocation from SBM-G for the year 2023-24 is Rs 7,192 crore and the states have planned for an expenditure of 22,264 cr from all sources this year.
Against this, there has been an expenditure of Rs4,690 cr from SBM-G funds and a total of Rs18,686 cr so far including FFC and MGNREGA. States with high expenditure of SBM-G funds this year are UP (Rs1,214 cr), Bihar (Rs 752 cr), and West Bengal (Rs 367 cr). These funds have been utilized to build sanitation assets, promote behavior change, and implement solid and liquid waste management systems.
The Union Minister expressed happiness that this achievement of 75% ODF Plus Villages is attained during ongoing Swachhata Hi Seva (SHS) – 2023 campaign which is being celebrated annually from September 15 to October 2 under Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen), Drinking Water & Sanitation Department, Ministry of Jal Shakti. He said Swachhata Hi Seva is increasing the ODF Plus momentum through Shramdaan activities with the theme of 'Garbage Free India', reinvigorating community participation i.e., Jan Andolan towards achieving the targets and goals of Swachh Bharat Mission.
