Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Saturday said that 4.4 lakh or 75% of the villages in India have now been declared as ‘Open Defecation Free Plus’. An ‘Open Defecation Free Plus’ village is one which has sustained its ODF status as well as implemented either solid or liquid waste management systems.
Addressing the media, the Jal Shakti Minister said that over 4.43 lakh so far have declared themselves ODF Plus, which is a significant step towards achieving the goals of the second phase of the Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin by 2024-25. He also added that all villages in 14 states and Union Territories (UT) have achieved ODF Plus Status, of which four have been declared ‘ODF Plus Model’.
Territories which have 100% ODF Plus villages
The top performing states and Union Territories which have 100% ODF Plus villages are Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra Nagar Haveli, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Ladakh, Puducherry, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Tripura. Of these, Andaman and Nicobar, Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman Diu, Jammu and Kashmir and Sikkim have achieved the ‘ODF Plus Model’ status.
Out of the 4,43,964 ODF Plus villages so far, 2,92,497 villages are ‘ODF Plus Aspiring’ which have made arrangements for solid waste or liquid waste management systems, 55,549 are ‘ODF Plus Rising’ with arrangements for both solid and liquid waste management systems and 96,018 are ‘ODF Plus model’. Overall, 2,31,080 villages so far have made arrangements for solid waste management, while, 3,76,353 have made arrangements for handling liquid waste, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said.
The Jal Shakti Minister said, “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 Gramin Phase II.”
The major components of the Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin Phase II are maintaining the ODF status and being equipped with systems to handle various kinds of waste such as solid or bio-degradable, plastic, liquid, and faecal sludge.
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