Swachh Bharat Mission: 75% Indian villages are now Open Defecation Free Plus

In a major achievement towards sanitation in rural India, at least 75% of the nation’s villages have achieved ODF Plus status under Phase II of Swachh Bharat Mission – Grameen, as declared by Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

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. As on date, more than 4.43 lakh villages have declared themselves ODF Plus, which is a significant step towards achieving the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) phase II goals by 2024-25.

An ODF Plus Model village is one which is sustaining its ODF status and has arrangements for both Solid Waste Management and Liquid Waste Management; and observes visual cleanliness, i.e., minimal litter, minimal stagnant wastewater, no plastic waste dump in public places; and displays ODF Plus Information, Education & Communication messages. As on date, 96,192 villages are ODF Plus Model villages.

Top performing states & UTs

The top performing States and Union Territories which have achieved 100% ODF Plus villages are – Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Ladakh, Puducherry, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Tripura. Among these, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadra Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Jammu & Kashmir and Sikkim have 100% ODF Plus Model villages. These States & UTs have shown remarkable progress in achieving the ODF Plus status, and their efforts have been instrumental in reaching this milestone.

Making all villages ODF Plus by 2025

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi about the same, Minister Shekhawat said Swachh Bharat Mission – Grameen Phase-II has set the ambitious target of making all villages ODF Plus by 2025.

Out of the 4,43,964 ODF Plus villages so far, 2,92,497 villages are ODF Plus Aspiring villages with arrangements for Solid Waste Management or Liquid Waste Management, 55,549 villages are ODF Plus Rising villages with arrangements for both Solid Waste Management and Liquid Waste Management and 96,018 villages are ODF Plus Model villages. Overall, so far, 2,31,080 villages have arrangements for solid waste management, and 3,76,353 villages have arrangements for liquid waste management.
The Union Minister further added that this year marks 9 years of the Swachh Bharat Mission. The achievement of 75% ODF Plus villages is a significant milestone for India, as the country has moved from ODF to ODF Plus in Swachh Bharat Mission Phase II.

Objectives

The major components of the Phase-II of Swachh Bharat Mission – Grameen are Sustaining Open Defecation Free Status, Solid (Bio-degradable) Waste Management, Plastic Waste Management, Liquid Waste Management, Faecal Sludge Management, GOBARdhan, Information Education and Communication/Behavior Change Communication and Capacity Building.

Budget

Union Minister Shekhawat stated that the entire budget outlay for Swachh Bharat Mission Phase II is 1.43 lakh crores. States with high expenditure of Swachh Bharat Mission – Grameen funds this year are UP (1214 cr), Bihar (752 cr), and West Bengal (367 cr). These funds have been utilised to build sanitation assets, promote behaviour change, and implement solid and liquid waste management systems.