Chhattisgarh 2nd in nation under ‘Gandagi Mukt Bharat Abhiyan’

Staff Reporter :

Raipur,

As many as 62 villages of Chhattisgarh have been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) Plus villages under ‘Gandagi Mukt Bharat Abhiyan’ launched by the Government of India from August 8 to 15. With it, Chhattisgarh has secured the second place in the category of declaring maximum ODF Plus villages, which is a matter of pride.

The nation has deeply understood the importance of cleanliness and in Chhattisgarh the role of Rural Development Minister T S Singhdeo has been significant to take the campaign to rural population and make them aware about the same. Significantly, the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi is being celebrated as Swachh Bharat Diwas. On this occasion, Chhattisgarh will be honored by the Ministry of Jal Shakti during an online ceremony. According to Singhdeo, Chhattisgarh has done better this year and well try to better the position in future. It is worthwhile to mention, ODF Phase-II of Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen was launched on April 1, 2020, with an objective to make all villages clean by working on solid and liquid waste management including sustainability.

The Government of India has fixed 8 criteria for ODF Plus villages such as availability of permanent public toilets in 80 per cent of the houses and proper arrangements for solid and liquid waste management in all schools/anganwadi, panchayat buildings, no water logging at public places, extensive publicity and hygiene etc. T S Singhdeo said that fulfilling these criteria, Chhattisgarh had declared 82 villages ODF Plus. Singhdeo said that the state of Chhattisgarh has been pioneer in the implementation of Phase-1 of Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin.

For outstanding performance in the field of cleanliness, Rs 174 crore World Bank Performance Grant was received in the year 2018 and 2019. This year too, Rs 68 crore grant was received. Singhdeo congratulated congratulated the entire team of Swachh Bharat Mission and other stakeholders.