PANJIM: Nothing could be more embarrassing for a globally-recognised tourist destination – Goa – to realise that none of its villages have been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) under the Centre’s ambitious Swachh Bharat Mission. Clearly this is one “business” which Goa does in the open which is not giving the State a good name. And the State has woken up to it.
And to add salt to the wounds is the fact the Goa has fewer villages than most states.
Official figures regarding Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural) on Goa show that SBM coverage is close to 77.84 per cent in North Goa, where as in South Goa it is 73.81 per cent.
Further the data also reveals that overall SBM coverage in the State was 60.59 percent in 2014, when the mission was launched; the State increased its coverage to 76.22 percent in the 2015-16 fiscal. But since then, the percent of coverage has not increased in the State.
While, attempts to tackle open defecation in the village wards have been hindered due to lack of public toilets, village panchayat officials have said that they are is in the process of identifying land for construction of community toilets, so that villages can be ODF by end of 2018.
However, panchayat officials said that one of the reasons is the growth in economic activities across urban areas and the floating population which has no access to toilet facilities and the old houses in the villages which do not have toilet facilities.
Speaking to Herald, Panchayats Director Sandhya Kamat said, “We are doing a survey along with Rural Development Agency (RDA) to find out the number of households without toilets in rural areas. Also land is being identified by the village panchayats for setting up community toilets so that the village can be ODF.”
The figures, through reports, also show that though 28,637 toilets were built in 2014, with 15.62 per cent households having the facility, but there are no records of number of new toilets, or ODF panchayats and villages notified since then.
Old-Goa Sarpanch Janita Madkaikar said, “Goa being a small State should have achieved his ODF status but failed to do so because many people have been giving rooms on rent without toilets to floating population and that went on increasing.”
Therefore the Chief Minister’s announcement of ensuring toilets to 70,000 plus households and making it mandatory for house owners to provide toilets to tenants, should kick-start the process to take Goa up the Open Defection Free ladder.
