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Villages witnessing qualitative improvement in sanitation

Villages in Rajasthan are witnessing a qualitative improvement in sanitation. The efforts made in village sanitation in the state are being praised at the national level.

Story Highlights
  • ODF plus village is defined as a village which sustains its Open Defecation Free (ODF) status, ensures solid and liquid waste management and is visually clean. This includes ensuring that all households in a village, as well as the Primary School, Panchayat Ghar and Anganwadi Centre, have access to a toilet and that all public places and at least 80% of households effectively manage their solid and liquid waste and have a minimal litter and minimal stagnant water.

Open Defecation Free Plus (ODF Plus) was approved in the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase II in 2020, after the tremendous success of ODF.  ODF Plus includes ODF sustainability and Solid and Liquid Waste Management.

The maximum population of the state and the country resides in villages therefore any campaign for development and sanitation can become successful only with the help of villagers. Gandhiji believed that villages of India can be made ideal only with better sanitation.

The villages are witnessing cleanliness and qualitative improvement is visible as the result of Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) phase II started with the inspiration of Gandhiji’s thinking.

Rajasthan bagged six awards in various categories for commendable work done in SBM (G) in a programme organised on October 2 presided over by the President of India Droupadi Murmu.

Panchayati Raj department secretary Naveen Jain said that a model plan has been made by integrating 11 points, due to which cleanliness in villages is ensured. Villagers are witnessing the changes around them. He said that the fight against filth is long and constant, but a strong start has commenced in Rajasthan. Efforts are being made to achieve the target of total sanitation in the villages with dustbin at every house, community dustbins in public places, person dedicated for maintain cleanliness as swachhata prahari  (sanitation surveillant), security equipment, garbage collection vehicle, construction of compost pit for making fertilisers from wet garbage (NADEP), setting up Resource Recovery Centre (RRC) for segregating garbage, construction of soak pit in every house and magic pit at public places for treatment of grey water, development of drainage channels and incinerator along with resources, facilities, systems and human resources, he added. 

First of all, more than 8279 villages with a population of over 2000 people were selected in 33 districts to implement this model for total sanitation in villages. Till date, work of door-to-door garbage collection has been started in 1419 villages similar to cities. The department by January 31, 2023, aims to implement the model sanitation plan in all the villages in the state with a population of more than 2000 people.

More than 800 officers including chief executive officers, development officers of panchayat samitis, district project coordinators, solid and liquid waste management experts and block coordinators have been trained from time to time to successfully implement this model plan

Jain said that public representatives and villagers were linked to this campaign by persuading them as a result now they have started understanding the importance of sanitation. It has not only changed their behaviour but now villagers have started giving useful suggestions. This model is being expanded by making plans as per the local needs of the villages and with public help.

Jain said, “SBM (G) is a movement of behaviour change in people of villages. The fight against the filth is long and constant, but a strong start has been made in Rajasthan through the model sanitation plan, which is being praised at the national level.”

Sandesh Nayak, director, SBM (G) said that efforts are being made for sanitation in villages with many innovations in a planned manner as per the requirements, available resources and local situation of cleanliness.

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