COIMBATORE: The state government will declare 484 village panchayats as open defection-free (ODF) before July 31, 2018, said municipal administration minister S P Velumani on Sunday.
Velumani was in the city to inaugurate the survey of rural cleanliness programme, Swachh Survekshan Grameen, 2018. He said 12,040 village panchayats were tagged with ODF certificate and 30 districts, except Villupuram and Cuddalore, had obtained ODF certificate.
The government has been working to achieve 100% ODF, he said. The government has spent about 4,639 crore to construct 49.36 lakh individual toilets across the state from the financial year 2013-14.
Tamil Nadu is the first state to focus on rural cleanliness, Velumani said, and added that the government has implemented solid waste management at a cost of 610 crore since 2014-15.
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