New Delhi: In a bid to achieve the coveted tag of open defecation free state by October 2, 2018, the Goa government has decided to install 60,000 bio-toilets at a cost of Rs 280 crore. The information was given by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar today while responding to the issue raised by Congress MLA Wilfred D’Sa during the Question Hour at the Legislative Assembly. Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said,
We will be installing 60,000 bio-toilets across the state to make it ODF under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. State-run Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) will be tendering the purchase of the bio-toilets under this scheme.
The date to close the purchase of the bio-toilets has been set as August 12.
Mr Parrikar further added,
The Directorate of Panchayat as well as the Rural Development Agency (RDA) would be assisting the corporation to implement the scheme. Tenders will be floated by the corporation, but it is difficult for a single contractor to provide 60,000 toilets in two-three months, due to which we have decided to take onboard seven to eight contractors.
Also Read: Goa To Construct 70,000 Toilets In Villages Within Wildlife Sanctuaries
Talking about the cost of the project, Mr Parrikar said that the total cost of the project will be approximately around Rs 280 crore with each toilet costing between Rs 35,000 and Rs 40,000.
Earlier this year, Goa government took a decision to make toilet construction mandatory for property owners before leasing out their property in order to achieve the ODF tag soon.
Now, with this new step Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar aims to achieve the target before the set deadline of October 2018.
Goa’s Swachh Report
Currently, around 28,637 toilets have been built in rural parts of Goa and more than 400 toilets have been constructed in urban parts of Goa.
Sanitation coverage in North Goa has inched towards 77.84 per cent and 73.81 per cent in South Goa. But, as of today none of the two districts have become ODF.
NDTV – Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign lends support to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign aims to spread awareness about hygiene and sanitation, the importance of building toilets and making India open defecation free (ODF) by October 2019, a target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. Over the years, the campaign has widened its scope to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and menstrual hygiene. The campaign has also focused extensively on marine pollution, clean Ganga Project and rejuvenation of Yamuna, two of India’s major river bodies.
