The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has decided to take action against its officials in a bid to stop open defecation in their jurisdiction.
Officials said action will be taken against zonal officers in case areas declared open defecation free do not have 24x7 operational toilets and these toilets are not cleaned regularly.
“We have declared 98% of areas under our jurisdiction open defecation free. The idea is not just to make toilets but to also ensure that they are in usable condition and people who habitually relieve themselves in the open are educated to make use of toilets,” said a senior SDMC official.
Ensuring accountability
The civic body also plans to deploy marshals, who will be contract employees from the sanitation department of each ward, to inspect areas declared open defecation free. A fine of ₹50 will be slapped on people found flouting rules.
The marshals will also be responsible for daily status reports on cleanliness of toilets in the area to zonal officers.
“This will ensure accountability at all levels. The civic body will be able to check at what level is work being shirked and action will be taken accordingly. Basically, we hope to take the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan initiatives to the ground level,” the official said.
The SDMC had in July made available mobile toilets to tackle the problem of open defecation.
According to the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan parameters, an urban local body can only declare its wards open defecation free if it is successful in providing public conveniences at 75% of its areas. Also, there should toilets within 500 metres of slum settlements.
The SDMC had in May made its preliminary resolution public and declared 92 of 104 wards open defecation free.
