Highlights
- Rural areas of Maharashtra declared open defecation free
- Rural Maharashtra now have more than 1 crore toilets
- No other state has created as many toilets as we have in 3 years: CM
New Delhi: ‘It is a very significant day in the history of Maharashtra as rural areas of the state become open defecation free. It is because of the hard work by entire Maharashtra,” says Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis as he declared the rural areas of Maharashtra free from the age-old practice of open defecation. Appreciating the state’s progress in Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the Chief Minister added that in 2012, only 45% household had toilets and now with a lot of effort, this 100% sanitation coverage target has been achieved.
Giving more details on the numbers of toilets constructed in the state, CM Fadnavis added,
19.16 lakh toilets were constructed in 2016-17 and 22.51 lakh in 2017-18. Moreover, 2.81 lakh common toilets have also been constructed in the state. These toilets have been jointly constructed by the Centre and the state government at a cost of Rs 4500 crore.
#ग्रामस्वराजअभियान
ग्रामीण महाराष्ट्रात शौचालय उभारणीचा असा वाढला वेग#GramSwarajAbhiyan @swachhbharat pic.twitter.com/eUOnDY3UH8— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) April 18, 2018
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis further said,
In a time of three and a half years, we have built more than 60 lakh toilets in 34 districts, 351 talukas, 21,000 gram panchayats and 40,500 villages. And, I can say with confidence no other state has created as many toilets as we have in these years.
#ग्रामस्वराजअभियान
राज्यातील
34 जिल्हे
351 तालुके
27,667 ग्रामपंचायती
40,500 गावांमध्ये
आता शौचालय… #GramSwarajAbhiyan @swachhbharat pic.twitter.com/I59MatCE4Q— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) April 18, 2018
Announcing the second part of the ‘Swachh Maharashtra’ campaign, CM added,
“Providing toilet access to every individual was the focus in the first phase of the Swachh Maharashtra campaign, now the government will work towards in ensuring compulsory usage of toilets by every individual.”
It took 67 years to build 50 lakh toilets and now 60 lakh toilets got constructed in just 3.5 years!
Access to the toilet was the first phase.
Now we have to work towards using of toilets compulsory in the next phase: CM @Dev_Fadnavis#GramSwarajAbhiyan https://t.co/7mdorYkSx0— CMO Maharashtra (@CMOMaharashtra) April 18, 2018
He said that to ensure the ODF tag the government is conducting campaigns like ‘Darwaza band’ and is creating more and more “Good Morning squad” in rural areas.
“Children in these squads will be armed with whistles and flowers to discourage people from open defecation. They will also be trained to ensure that zero instances of open defecation occur in their respective areas,” said CM Devendra Fadnavis.
Last year, President Ram Nath Kovind declared urban Maharashtra open defecation free. With this new achievement, Maharashtra becomes the latest state of India to be 100% free from the practice of open defecation after Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Meghalaya.
