Following the directives of State Urban Development Authority (SUDA), Raipur Municipal Corporation (RMC) on Wednesday launched a campaign to abolish the practice of open defecation under limits of the Corporation.
Under this campaign, which is scheduled to be concluding on April 19, is going to witness a series of activities in different municipal zones.
RMC Commissioner Saransh Mittar has asked ward corporators, public representatives, people, Women Self Helped groups, Aanganbadi workers, mitanins, ASHA workers and others to ensure active participation in the campaign.
The Commissioner has directed Zone Commissioners to undertake extensive activities leading to Open Defecation Free (ODF) status to areas in limits of the corporation during the campaign through groups headed by corporators. Besides, he also suggested officials to unite people dwelling in slum areas with the campaign on priority basis.
Under this campaign, the groups led by corporators will be carrying out mass discussion programme in slum and other areas with problem of open defecation, said RMC officials.
Chhattisgarh’s Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Ajay Chandrakar in February this year said that the Government has pledged to make Chhattisgarh complete open defecation free (ODF) State by the year 2018 as against the Centre’s national target of making India ‘ODF country’ by 2019.
The Minister was addressing a review meeting of state ministers and Secretaries in-charge of Sanitation and Rural Drinking water at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.
Chhattisgarh Public Health Engineering Minister Ramsewak Paikra also attended the meeting and presented his views.
Union Rural Development Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh presided over the meeting. Chhattisgarh Panchayat and Rural Development department Additional Chief Secretary MK Raut was also present.
Apprising the Union minister about Chhattisgarh’s work progress under ‘Swachch Bharat Mission’, Chandrakar said that a target of making 4811 villages of the State open defecation free has been set under ‘Swachch Bharat Mission’ and MNREGA out of which 1034 villages have already become open defecation free.
He said that more than 23,000 individual toilets have also been constructed. The Minister urged the Centre to provide assistance of `420 crore as more than 7 lakh toilets have still to be constructed in the State.