Bhubaneswar: Sambalpur has become the fourth district in the state to achieve 100 per cent household toilet coverage under Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) and moved closer to be declared as the fourth open defecation free (ODF) district from the state.
As per the updates of the SBM (Rural) portal, maintained by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, as accessed by Orissa POST Thursday, Sambalpur has now achieved 100 per cent toilet coverage under the mission, which started October 2, 2014.
With the inclusion of Sambalpur into the club, Odisha now hosts four districts – Jharsuguda, Deogarh, Balasore and Sambalpur – with 100 per cent Individual Household Level Toilets (IHHL). However, till now only two districts – Deogarh and Jharsuguda – have been declared as ODF districts after completion of the scrutiny of the verification process.
Before the commencement of SBM (Rural), Odisha had around 11 per cent toilet coverage, overall, but now it stands at 70 per cent as against the national coverage of 96 per cent.
The state-wise data reveals that Odisha is one of the worst performing states as it still has the lowest toilet coverage in the country while most other states have outperformed in terms of toilet coverage.
According to Parmeshwar Aiyer, the Nodal Officer of SBM from the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, the SBM had set a target to achieve 100 per cent toilet coverage. The ministry has been planning to move on to other post-ODF activities like community participation, solid waste management and other activities categorised as ‘ODF plus’ once the districts get the ODF tag.
The ODF declaration starts from the Gram Sabha level and has been mandated to be verified by the authorities concerned.