Koothattukulam is set to become the first open defecation-free (ODF) municipality in the district under the Swachh Bharat Urban (SBU).
The declaration would be made at the next council meeting to be held on October 13 followed by an announcement by Minister for Industries E.P. Jayarajan shortly thereafter.
Municipal sources claimed that though Kattappana had been declared the first ODF municipality in the State, Koothattukulam is the first to complete all the formalities entailing such a declaration as per SBU.
“We are the first municipality to upload the pictures of constructed toilets on the SBU web portal and make ward-wise online ODF declaration,” said an official associated with the implementation of the project.
The municipality identified 38 households without toilets across its 25 divisions and covered it under the open defecation-free project of SBU, spending a total of Rs.5.85 lakh.
Survey
The beneficiaries were identified through a survey conducted by the Suchitwa Samithi with the ward councillor as convener and health inspector as joint convener.
The applications were accepted in the SBU portal and steps were immediately taken to release the per unit amount of Rs.15,400, including the local body contribution of Rs.10,067 and the combined Central and State government allocation of Rs.5,333.
For the municipality, it was a commendable feat, considering the odds against which it was achieved.
Fewer hands
Unlike other municipalities, Koothattukulam received the SBU project allocation only in September. To make matters worse, the municipality had to undertake the project with fewer hands.
Though the State government, in the wake of the elevation of Koothattukulam panchayat as municipality, had sanctioned 49 posts as per the municipal staff pattern, postings were not yet made.
The Koothattukulam municipality had to execute the project with a staff strength of 15.
The municipality identified 38 households without toilets across 25 divisions
