Will Goa Be An Open Defecation Free State This October?

New Delhi: Highlighting that Goa had made significant progress in improving its Swachh quotient, Minister of State for Urban Development and Housing Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri said that he is confident that Goa will become hundred per cent `open defecation free’ by October 2018. The minister after reviewing implementation of flagship programmes announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also said that the state has made significant progress in implementing schemes and others states had lot to learn from Goa.

“Goa has made impressive strides in solid waste management. The state has a very good project which converts waste into energy and it needs to be replicated throughout the country,” said Hardeep Singh Puri.

He further adds,

I was told by the Goa chief minister that the state will be hundred per cent open defecation free by October 2018. I have no doubt that the state will achieve this goal.

“The idea is that by the time we reach October 2, 2019, which is the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the entire country should be open defecation free,” added Hardeep Singh Puri, underlining the fact that the Swachh Bharat Mission which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014 had now assumed the nature of a jana andolan.”

These announcements were made in Goa at a press conference held to launch ‘Smart Star-Rating Protocol’ for garbage-free cities by Hardeep Singh Puri along with the Chief Minister of Goa, Manohar Parrikar.

Also Read: Goa’s New Year Resolution: To Become Plastic And Garbage Free By 2022

In Number: Goa’s Swachh Report Card

Till now, in Goa’s urban parts around 471 individual toilets have been constructed, whereas in the rural parts more than 28 thousand toilets have been build. But, till now the state doesn’t have a single ODF district or a city. Currently the urban sanitation coverage in the state is below 30% whereas rural sanitation coverage is 76.22%. A lot has been achieved by the state, but the road to 100% swachhta is still a long one.

Also Read: Churches Give A Push To Goa’s Plastic Free Dream, Asks Citizens To Avoid Plastic And Toxic Items On All Souls Day

Apart from open defecation free target, the state is also aiming to Goa plastic-free by 2022. Last year, the state issued series of ban, in May the government imposed a ban on plastic bags of below 50 micron (thickness) with an effect from July onwards. Then in October, government officers implemented the ban on usage of plastic within their premises as part of Swachh Bharat initiative. This year on January 4, an announcement of putting a blanket ban on PVC (Polyvinyl chloride) based plastic from May 30, 2018 was made by the chief minister. Polyvinyl chloride is the world’s third-most widely produced synthetic plastic polymer after polythene and polypropylene and is the most toxic plastic.