Chandigarh, August 10: Under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Punjab government has taken concrete and effective steps to face lift the villages across the state under which 43 villages of the state have been made ODF (Open Defecation Free) plus model villages while 662 villages have got the status of ODF Plus Aspiring Villages.
Giving this information, Punjab Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Mr. Bram Shankar Jimpa said that the Punjab government has set a target to provide good facilities to the villages across the state as well as to make the rural areas clean, so that the people live in good atmosphere.
Villages are being made ODF plus model only to improve the living conditions of the people. ODF Plus Model Village status is given to a village that is completely free from open defecation and also has complete management of solid and liquid waste. ODF Plus Aspiring Villages are those that are completely free from defecation and have either liquid or solid waste disposed of.
Mr. Jimpa said that Punjab Government has set the target to made all the villages as ODF Plus model by the end of 2025. He also informed that 1852 community sanitary complexes (common toilets) are being constructed in the rural areas. An amount of Rs. 38.89 crore has been released for this project.
He said that the purpose of these common toilets is to provide facilities to agriculture labor, residents who do not have space to make toilets at home, gatherings of people during weddings or other functions.
He said that so far 5.88 lakh household toilets have been constructed and the state has been declared an open defecation free. Despite this, arrangements are yet to be made for various gatherings and laborers coming from outside for agriculture, for which the state government has taken steps so that the state can be made completely clean and a model state.
