A target has been set to make entire Odisha open defecation-free by October 2019 under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural), informed Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Minister Pradeep Maharathy in the State Assembly on Tuesday.
Maharathy informed this in response to a question of Congress MlA Tara Prasad Bahinipati.
However, against the target, only 8,921 villages, 851 gram panchayats, 11 blocks and two districts have been declared open defecation-free by April 13, 2018.
It may be noted that Odisha has a total of 51,352 villages spread across 314 blocks under 30 districts as per the 2011 Census.