Urban Maharashtra Goes Swachh, Declared Open Defecation Free By Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis

New Delhi: ‘We had decided to make Urban Maharashtra Open Defecation Free (ODF) on October 2, 2015 and it’s a great day today as we have achieved the target. It is a historic moment for Maharashtra as it achieves the mammoth task of declaring its Urban Areas free from open defecation,’ said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai at an event organised to announce the Urban areas ODF. As of date, India has 5 open defecation free states – Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Haryana and Uttarakhand. Today Maharashtra joins this ODF chain and became the sixth state to declare its urban areas ODF.

Hailing Maharashtra government for their exemplary work, President Ram Nath Kovind added, with this declaration, almost half of Maharashtra has become open defecation free, since 49 percent population in Maharashtra lives in urban areas. The president also felicitated few local bodies and swachhata workers at the launch event.

Also Read: Can The Second Most Populous State Of India – Maharashtra Achieve Its Open Defecation Free Target By March 2018?

President Ram Nath Kovind also said, declaration of Urban Maharashtra Open Defecation Free is the best tribute to Mahatma Gandhi ahead of Gandhi Jayanti.

The ODF declaration of urban areas of the state has come after a three tier validation process, explaining the process, Devendra Fadnavis added, first the cities were inspected by the local administration, then by the state government and lastly by a central agency. All have given a nod to declare Urban Maharashtra open defecation free.

He also added, “Now we have a double responsibility at hand. We have to encourage people to use the record number of toilets created in the last two years. For this we have created a mechanism called ‘ODF Watch’ where people will be forced, encouraged to use a toilet. If they defecate in the open, a whistle will be blown and people will be shamed for not using a toilet.”

He further added that the mechanism will work from morning until the dusk for the next six months, to ensure people use a toilet.

Also Read: To End Open Defecation, Maharashtra Government Forms ‘Good Morning’ Squads

In the last two years, approximately 40 lakh toilets have been constructed in the state. The chief minister said by March next year, rural Maharashtra too will be declared ODF.

Open Defecation Sorted, Now Next What

Speaking about the future plans of the government, Devendra Fadnavis said that the government will also focus on segregation of waste scientifically and treat sewage water.