Punjab achieves another major milestone: 25% villages are now ODF Plus- Jimpa

Chandigarh: Under the dynamic leadership of CM Bhagwant Singh Mann, Punjab has achieved yet another major milestone under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) with more than 25% of the total villages achieving ODF Plus status. An ODF Plus village is one which has sustained its Open Defecation Free (ODF) status along with implementing either solid or liquid waste management systems.

      Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Bram Shanker Jimpa informed that as on date, 3028 villages have declared themselves ODF Plus, which is a significant step towards achieving the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) phase II goals by 2024-25.

      He said that the top performing districts in terms of percentage of ODF Plus villages are Mansa (60.85%), Barnala (56.56%), Bathinda (42.39%), Gurdaspur (36.64%), Malerkotla (31.67%) & SAS Nagar (32.14%). These districts have shown remarkable progress in achieving the ODF Plus status, and their efforts have been instrumental in reaching this milestone.

       Of the 3028 ODF Plus villages, 2929 villages are ODF Plus aspiring villages with arrangements for either solid waste management or liquid waste management, 28 villages are ODF Plus rising villages and 71 villages are ODF Plus model villages. ODF Plus model village is one which is sustaining its ODF status and has arrangements for both Solid Waste Management and Liquid Waste Management, observes visual cleanliness, i.e., minimal litter, minimal stagnant wastewater, no plastic waste dump in public places and displays ODF Plus Information, Education & Communication (IEC) messages.

       He further said that the achievement of 25% ODF Plus villages is a significant milestone for Punjab as it is going beyond just construction and use of toilets towards complete and absolute cleanliness i.e., from ODF to ODF Plus. The major components of the Phase-II of Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) are sustaining open defecation free status (ODF-S), solid (bio-degradable) waste management, plastic waste management (PWM), liquid waste management (LWM), faecal sludge management (FSM), GOBAR dhan, information education and communication/behavior change.

        Jimpa said that this milestone represents the culmination of hard work, dedication & unwavering commitment of district & state teams of department of Water Supply & Sanitation as well as department of Rural Development & Panchayats. Further, he congratulated the officials and employees of both the departments and told that it is a testament to what we can achieve when we work together with a common goal.