State inches closer to toilet target

BHUBANESWAR: Even after missing the deadline for achieving 100 per cent toilet coverage in households under Swachh Bharat Mission, the State has taken a quantum leap forward in implementation of the rural sanitation programme.

Though around 82 per cent of total households in the State have constructed toilets by the end of January, only six districts have been declared open defecation free (ODF).

“Individual household latrine (IHHL) coverage has reached saturation point in the districts of Balasore, Deogarh, Ganjam, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur and Sonepur while the coverage is around 92 per cent in Gajpati, Kandhamal and Sundargarh,” said Mission Director Roopa Mishra.
The Centre had set January 31, 2019 as the deadline for covering all households under Swachhata Mission.

However, the State had missed the target with over 15 lakh households going without toilets, sources said.
A meeting of the governing body of Odisha Water and Sanitation Mission held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi revealed that 54 blocks, 1,916 gram panchayats (GPs) and 19,974 villages have been declared open defecation free (ODF).

Under rural drinking water supply programme, 6,587 out of 6,798 GPs have already been covered under pipe water supply projects. More than 75 per cent of the population have been covered under pipe water supply in Deogarh, Ganjam and Khurda.

“In 2018-19, around 9,554 projects worth `14,896 crore were taken up in convergence with various schemes. As of now, 2,099 projects have been completed and made functional,” said Principal Secretary, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Deo Ranjan Kumar Singh.

He said 4.6 lakh tube wells have been installed while 16,545 pipe water supply schemes are functioning in the State. With 78 water testing laboratories, Odisha has been ranked as first at the national level in terms of quality and quantum of performance, he said.

Singh said 650 iron removal plants have been installed in 15 affected districts. As many as 800 de-fluoridation plants have also been installed in nine fluoride-affected districts.

The Mission Director said currently, the drinking water projects are being implemented in convergence with the funds from BASUDHA, OMBADC, National Rural Drinking Water Project, District Mineral Foundation, State Finance Commission, and Rural Infrastructure Development Fund.