New Delhi: The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation is confident of declaring Orissa an ODF (open defecation free) state by the end of October next year.
At present, by the ministry’s own admission, 55 per cent of the rural population of the state does not have toilets of their own.
When asked if the plan to make the state ODF by 2019 is feasible, Parmeswar Aiyer, Secretary, Drinking Water and Sanitation told Orissa POST, “We are fully confident of converting Orissa into an ODF state by October 2, 2019. Work in this regard is going in full swing.”
With regard to the problems confronting the ministry in extending the toilet coverage in the state, Aiyer said, “States like Orissa were way behind in terms of houses having toilets when the Swachh Bharat Mission commenced October 2, 2014.
The state now has come a long way forward. It was mainly due to the very low coverage to start with which made the task a challenge but we are confident to achieve the target.”
When asked about reported poor quality of toilets constructed as part of the mission in the state, Aiyer, who is the nodal officer in the ministry handling the Mission, said, “These are some stray cases. Whenever we get such reports we share the information with the states and recommend actions accordingly.”
Manish Kumar, OP