The ‘Swacch Bharat Abhiyan’ pioneered by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been forwarded and bolstered by many states across the state. Rajasthan being no exception, the state recently claimed to have declared more than 55% of the gram panchayats open defecation free (ODF) in it’s geographical area.
Out of 9,894 gram panchayats, 5500 panchayats have been declared ODF, said Sudarshan Sethi, additional chief secretary rural development and panchayati raj department. According to the targets fixed by the state government all the panchayats and urban bodies in the state had to be declared open defecation free latest by March 2018.
Although the districts of Jhunjhunu and Pali have accomplished the requisite target, in full sense. Despite, fulfilling the target, the districts have not yet been officially declared as ODF. Although, the gram panchayats in Bikaner, Ajmer, and Churu districts have been declared as open defecation free (ODF).
Not only this, there are many districts which have undergone major changes to come at par with all other districts. Districts like Chittorgarh and Ganganagar are amongst those in the close run-up to being tagged as ‘open defecation free (ODF)’, with 76.55 and 66. 67 % respectively. Cities like Jaipur, Alwar and Udaipur, however, have had to combat with all odds to earn the tag.
For further consolidation, let us look at the facts and figures. Udaipur district have a large number of gram panchayats at 544. It has declared 141 GPs ODF free but 403 GPs still remain to meet the target. Alwar and Jaipur are still battling to get it’s districts covered under the umbrella of open defecation free (ODF).
Out of 532 gram panchayats in the district, 106 have been declared ODF while in Alwar 110 out of 512 have been declared.
Rajasthan is now turning into an urbanized state which is equipped with all facilities and amenities. These developments validate and testify Rajasthan’s earnest concerns in nexus with hygiene and health of masses.
