Bhubaneswar: The Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural) which ensured 100 per cent toilet coverage for each household in 2019 is now going to shift its attention towards waste management programmes under the mission with the allocation of budget as announced by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Experts and people working in the sector claimed that the new Budget can pave the way for attention towards the ODF Plus activities which are envisioned as the next phase of the sanitation mission.
“Under the ODF Plus activities, the focus under the Swachh Bharat Mission will be given towards the solid and liquid waste management plans at the local level with the newly allocated funds in the Budget,” said Kumuda Satpathy, a former consultant of the mission at Deogarh district. Satpathy was a key official in ensuring ground level implementation of the mission to get Deogarh the first ‘Open Defecation Free’ (ODF) tag in the state.
According to the guidelines of the Swachh Bharat Mission from the Jal Shakti Ministry, recycling and waste management will get importance under the ODF Plus module. The Union Budget has allocated Rs 12,294 crore for the mission which will now focus on the ODF Plus activities throughout the state.
The ministry while defining the ODF Plus activities in their norms said, “Water, cleanliness of water sources and public water bodies, decentralized solid and liquid waste management, 3R (Reduce, Recycle and Reuse), drains, maintenance of school and Anganwadi toilets, hand-washing and personal hygiene, hand-washing in school before Mid-Day-Meal, awareness and training on pit emptying and faecal sludge management are included under the category.”
In the budget speech, the Finance Minister had said, “Our government is committed to ODF Plus in order to sustain ODF behaviour and to ensure that no one is left behind. Now, more needs to be done towards liquid and grey water management. Focus would also be on solid waste collection, source segregation and processing. Total allocation for Swachh Bharat Mission is about Rs 12,300 crore in 2020-21.”