'Villages along Ganga to be open defecation-free by Dec'

Notwithstanding the recent flood situation in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the Centre is confident of attaining the "challenging" goal of making villages located along Ganga open defecation-free (ODF) by December this year with the help of states, a senior official said here today.

"There has been recent setback because of the floods, particularly in UP and Bihar where this work (of making the villages ODF) has taken a backseat.

"But we are back in regular contact with the (Ganga basin) states. It is quite a challenging task but we are confident that ODF status will be achieved in all the villages by the year-end," Parameswaran Iyer, Secretary of Drinking Water and Sanitation Ministry, said.
 

Iyer made the remarks during a briefing on Swachh Bharat Pakhwada (fortnight) observed by Ministries of Information and Broadcasting and Youth Affairs and Sports.

Besides Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and West Bengal are the Ganga basin states. There are 5,169 villages located along Ganga, falling under 1,651 gram panchayats in 52 districts of these states. According to ministry officials, around 1,300 of these villages have become ODF until now.

Iyer said the ministry has developed specific indicators called 'Index for Village Swachhta' to rank hamlets across the country in managing solid waste in addition to becoming ODF and ensuring visible cleanliness.

"...Now specific indicators on solid waste management have been developed. We have also developed something called index for village Swachhta. Every village will be ranked on solid waste management, plus on ODF and on visual cleanliness," Iyer said.

Meanwhile, informing media persons about the fortnight observed by sports department of the Youth Affairs and Sports Ministry, its secretary Rajiv Yadav said the employees focused on ensuring cleanliness of changing rooms and toilets at stadia during the period ending on August 31.

Youth Affairs department secretary Rajiv Gupta said that various initiatives were undertaken during the span and claimed 36 lakh National Service Scheme volunteers in schools and colleges and 86 lakh Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan youth club members across the nation participated in those.

Additional Secretary in Information and Broadcasting Ministry Jayashree Mukherjee also attended the briefing.