Rajasthan All Set To Become Open Defecation Free By End Of This Year: M Venkaiah Naidu

Union Minister for Urban Development and Housing, M Venkaiah Naidu today announced that under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Rajasthan is all set to become open defecation free (ODF) by December 31. Out of 190 cities, 20 cities have already been declared free from open defecation, said Mr Naidu at a press conference. Earlier in the day Mr Naidu met Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Rajiv Gauba, Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development at a meeting.

He reviewed the implementation of various projects including Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Smart Cities and Hriday.

In the recent Swachh Survekshan results, Rajasthan had fared poorly where Bundi at 171th position was ranked as the cleanest city in the state and 18 out of 29 cities were ranked beyond 300. Even major cities like Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur under-performed and were ranked 215, 209 and 310 respectively. The Swachh Survekshan survey evaluated cities on the basis of processing and disposal of municipal solid waste; waste collection; toilets constructed to curb open defecation; and information, education and behavior change. To improve the swachhta levels, the centre has sanctioned ₹ 184.83 Crore for the Swachh Bharat Mission.

Expressing his disappointment at the state’s performance in cleanliness ranking, Mr Naidu said, “I was disappointed with Rajasthan’s performance but Jaipur has shown improvement. The state government has assured that it will improve the overall cleanliness in other cities as well.”

In the area of waste management, the state will install two waste-to-energy plants – one in Jaipur and other in Jodhpur by August. The state has invested ₹ 3000 crore for the same added Mr Naidu.

Ahead of the World Environment Day, Rajasthan will implement source segregation in five regions – Dungarpur, Jodhpur, Ajmer, Pratap Nagar and Tonk said Mr Naidu.

Under the AMRUT mission, funds have also been allocated to for water supply and sewerage systems, “Under @amrut_moud mission period, Rs 3224cr for Water supply & sewerage has been approved for 29 cities in #Rajasthan @VasundharaBJP,” said Mr Naidu in a tweet.

Apart from Rajasthan, six other states including Haryana, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Mizoram and Punjab are expected to become ODF by end of this year.

Also Read: Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: Can India Become Open Defecation Free By 2019?