Union Minister for Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has truly lauded the achievement of a fivefold increase in ODF Plus villages in India under the Swachh Bharat Mission – Grameen, Phase – II, in just one year, with more than 40 percent of India’s inhabited villages having declared themselves ODF Plus. The Union Minister, addressing the media, asserted that ODF Plus villages increased from 46,121 villages (7.4 per cent) in March 2022 to 2,38,973 villages (40.21 per cent) in March 2023. Shekhawat further added, “Out of these 2,38,973 ODF Plus villages, 1,60,709 are in the ODF Plus Aspiring category, 27,409 in the ODF Plus Rising category and 50,855 are in the ODF Plus Model category”
Shekhawat applauded the States and UTs for having achieved more than 2.38 lakh ODF Plus villages compared to only 46,480 in March 2022. Referring to his recent participation in the UN Water Conference 2023, he said “India has earned recognition around the world and is considered a role model in the field of sanitation. Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen which ensured access to sanitation to the whole of rural India was indeed a game-changer”. The Union Minister also announced that the National Scheme Sanctioning Committee (NSSC) which met on March 28, 2023, for consideration of the Annual Implementation Plans (AIPs) of all the States and Union Territories has approved the State/UT budgets to the tune of Rs. 52,049 crore for SBM-G Phase II activities through convergence for the Financial Year 2023-24. States have been informed of the tentative allocation of Rs. 14,030 crore in Central share funds for FY 2023-24. On the performance of States, the 3 UTs of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu were not only ODF Plus, but all their villages were of the ODF Plus Model category, the Minister announced. He said that the top performing States were Telangana with 100 per cent ODF Plus villages followed by Tamil Nadu with 95.7 per cent ODF plus villages and Karnataka with 93.7 per cent ODF plus villages. On the other hand, the States making remarkable progress were Himachal Pradesh which moved from 18 per cent ODF Plus villages in 2022 to 79 per cent villages in 2023; followed by Madhya Pradesh which moved from 6 per cent ODF Plus villages in 2022 to 62 per cent villages in 2023; and Uttar Pradesh which moved from 2 per cent ODF Plus villages in 2022 to 47 per cent villages in 2023. As far as the North East States were concerned, Mizoram has moved from 6 per cent ODF Plus villages in 2022 to 35 per cent villages in 2023
Of the total spending by States, the Union Minister appreciated the efforts of Bihar and UP for having high fund expenditure (more than 90 per cent) in the current financial year of 2022-23. Shekhawat mentioned the achievements under SBM-G the year 2022-23 which included the launch of SBM 2.0 Mobile App to capture SLWM progress; Engaging women SHGs in SLWM and providing them with income generation opportunities; Release of Technical manuals and tool kits for Solid and Liquid waste Management (SLWM) components; Sujlam and Retrofit to Twin Pit Campaigns for integrated Grey Water Management and Faecal Sludge Management; SBM academy – IVRS-based (online course) and DDWS being designated the Nodal Department for the implementation of GOBARdhan. Shekhawat also reiterated the importance of the GOBARdhan initiative, its objective being to convert waste to wealth, manage rural biodegradable waste, generate rural income, and promote a circular economy. The achievement under GOBARdhan which is being implemented in coordination with other stakeholder ministries as of date is 510 community GOBARdhan projects completed under SBM(G) along with 43 CBG projects under SATAT by MoP&NG and 36 projects under MNRE funding. In conclusion, the Minister called for the ‘Whole of Government’ and ‘Whole of Society’ approaches which are key to achieving 100 per cent ODF Plus villages or Sampoorna Swachhata by 2024.
