Six more Bengal districts to become ODF soon

Of the 23 districts in the State, the Centre has already announced eight as ‘Nirmal Zila’

Six more districts in West Bengal are likely to be declared open defecation free (ODF) by the end of this month, an official said.

Of the 23 districts in the State, the Centre had already announced eight districts as ODF.

March 31 deadline

Howrah, Paschim Medinipur, Birbhum, Murshidabad, Malda and Dakshin Dinajpur districts are likely to be declared ‘Nirmal Zila’ or ODF by March 31, the State Panchayat and Rural Development department official said.

“We have set a deadline of March 31 for completing the construction works for individual household latrines (IHHLs) in these six districts. Construction work is almost over in Howrah and Malda districts. In the other four districts, we are hopeful of achieving the target before the end of this month,” he said.

A district is certified ODF only after the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation representatives conduct a review there to check whether all the households have IHHLs and give their nod.

“For Howrah and Malda, we are waiting for the representatives from the Ministry to conduct a review. Once it is completed we will announce them as ‘Nirmal Zila’,” the officer said.

The Ministry has, so far, declared eight districts -- Nadia, Hooghly, Purba Medinipur, Purba Bardhaman, Paschim Bardhaman, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas and CoochBehar -- in West Bengal as ODF.

Nadia was the first district in the country to be acknowledged as ODF by the Centre, which has named the scheme Swachh Bharat Mission.

53 lakh more IHHLs

“In 2017-18, over nine lakh IHHLs were constructed and by next October we are targeting to completing 53 lakh more,” he said.

According to the official, funds from the Centre, meant for this project, were not “fully coming to the State”.

“Funds from the Centre are not coming fully to us. And the State government is spending much for the project and that is why we are not using the name Swachh Bharat Mission,” he said.

Around ₹12,000 is required to construct one IHHL, of which 60% was to come from the Centre and the rest to be given by the State government.

So far, around ₹1,200 crore has been spent in West Bengal for the scheme, he said.

The government is aiming to make the entire State ODF by October 2019, he said.