All urban local bodies in MP now open defecation free: govt

All 378 urban local bodies in Madhya Pradesh, including 16 municipal corporations, have become 'open defecation free' (ODF), the BJP government in the state said today.
The government had set itself the target of making all urban local bodies as ODF by December this year.
"All 378 urban local bodies -- 16 municipal corporations, 98 municipalities, 258 Nagar Panchayats and six cantonments have been declared open defecation free on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi," Urban Development Minister Maya Singh said.
She thanked office-bearers of urban bodies for this achievement, and said, "The state will be fully open defecation free by 2018. The Swachhata Abhiyan (cleanliness campaign) has brought about a change in people's mentality. People have started understanding the importance of use of toilets.

"So far, 4.80 lakh household toilets have been constructed in the urban areas. Construction of two lakh household toilets is the target this fiscal year," she added.
A senior official of the Urban Administration Department said efforts were being made to make this achievement "sustainable".
"Now our focus will be on making this achievement sustainable. We will continue to construct new toilets, if new demand arises. Urban administration department had set this target for December this year but it was achieved three months early," he added.