Rural Haryana has become open defecation free: state govt

All rural areas including 6,025 gram panchayats in Haryana have become Open Defecation Free (ODF), the state government claimed today.
The state government is now working on an 'ODF plus' campaign that would aim for effective solid and liquid waste disposal management, Haryana's Development and Panchayats Minister O P Dhankar told reporters here today.
"All 6,205 gram panchayats in the state have been declared ODF," Dhankar said.
Lauding the people of the state, he said that a significant role had been played by woman officers and representatives of panchayati raj institutions for making this "difficult task" achievable.
The rural areas of the state have, infact, achieved the target before urban areas, the minister said.

"After Prime Minister Narendra Modi set the goal of achieving ODF status in the country by 2019, the state took upon itself the challenge to become ODF by 2017...As per a survey conducted in 2012, of the total 30.24 lakh rural households in the State, 7.3 lakh households were without toilets.

"Today, more than 7.51 lakh toilets have been constructed and 100 per cent coverage of toilets in rural areas has been achieved," Dhankar said.
He said that about 51,000 toilets were constructed as a result of a condition set by the Haryana government that those wishing to contest elections to panchayati raj institutions must have functional toilets in their homes.

The minister said that a grant of Rs one lakh will be given to every panchayat that has achieved ODF status.
Dhankar said that under the Swachh Bharat Mission (rural), a community-led sanitation approach along with a cluster-based human resource framework was adopted with the technical assistance of the World Bank.
The focus was to just to construct toilets but also inspire a behavioural change, he said.
Each district conducted a three-four month intensive campaign led by the Deputy Commissioners and other officials, Dhankar said.
Teams consisting of government officials, NGOs, youth and representatives of panchayati raj institutions were constituted from the district level to the village level.

'Nigrani samitis' were constituted at the village level to keep constant vigil on open defecation in the villages, he said adding that the people and panchayats were motivated and resolved to make their village ODF, he said.
Dhankar said that as an incentive, the government was giving a grant of Rs one lakh to every panchayat which has achieved ODF status.
Besides 'Swachhta Puraskar', 'Swarna Jayanti Award' will also be conferred, he said. All efforts have also been made to provide toilets in schools, 'anganwadis' and public buildings, the minister said.