It seems that the mission will not be able to meet its target in the state
as only Deogarh has been declared open defecation free so far
Bhubaneswar: War of words has ensued between the two rival political parties running governments at the Centre and in the state over execution of Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) in the state.
BJD, the ruling dispensation in the state, alleged that the BJP ruled Centre is not providing sufficient funds, while the latter alleged that the state government has failed to utilise the funds properly.
Soon after the NDA government came to power at the Centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the SBM and set an ambitious target of making the country open defecation free (ODF) by October 2, 2019. However, it seems that the mission will not be able to meet its target in the state as only one district – Deogarh – has been declared ODF so far.
According to official data, 49,60,684 rural households in the state are not having toilets at home, while every household in states like Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Kerala already has the facility.
Panchayati Raj minister Pradeep Maharathy said, “The Centre is supposed to release Rs 300 crore to the state under SBM (Gramin) during this financial year. However, it has released only Rs 84 crore so far which is affecting the implementation of the mission. Still the state is spending money from its own coffers for the scheme.”
Reacting to Maharathy’s statement, state BJP general secretary Prithviraj Harichandan alleged that the state government is always blaming the Centre, while the fact is that it is not able to utilise the Central funds effectively. “If there is any shortage of funds, have they informed the Centre about it? The state should first clarify as to how many households in the state have toilets at home,” the BJP leader said.
PNN
