It is now clear that Goa will not meet yet another self-imposed deadline of achieving open defecation free status, as it has not been able to build the 530 odd community toilets that it had hoped to do by August 31. However, to show that it has made the mark, the State now plans to place mobile bio-digester toilets in places where they would be required and claim that it has achieved the status. But, these will not be household toilets and will, at best be a temporary measure that may save the State the blushes of being unable to achieve ODF status. It is not permanent and comes with its own problems, primarily of their security and what will be done after the permanent toilets are built.
Given the manner in which the State has missed its own deadlines of achieving the ODF status, there falls a shadow on whether the permanent toilets will indeed be built in the coming month as has now been announced. The State needs to build 21,000 individual toilets to achieve ODF status. The community toilets, even the permanent ones, will also, therefore, turn out to be temporary measures that will add to the financial burden of the State.
It is embarassing when you see the ODF map of India on the Swachh Bharat website, as it shows various States and Union Territories in green signifying that they have achieved 91 per cent to 100 per cent ODF status and only Goa remains a different colour as it has failed to keep up with the rest of the country. Where villages declared ODF are concerned, Goa stands at 11.64 per cent. The States closest to it in this ignominous distinction it has achieved is Odisha, which is very far ahead with 84.11 per cent and Bihar with 98.74 per cent. The rest of the States and Union Territories have made it to the 100 per cent coverage, while Odisha and Bihar are close to making the mark.
Given Goa’s small size and population, coupled with its high literacy, ODF status should not have been too difficult a target to achieve. That Goa failed repeatedly in this project after imposing deadlines on itself, indicates that the project was not taken up with the seriousness that it should have. Now that the national deadline of October 2, 2019 – the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi – is merely weeks away, Goa looks at temporary measures to achieve the status, which is not the best manner in which a State should act. Goa’s performance has been dismissal and there is no justification that the State can give for the failure.
The reason for the latest delay in constructing the toilets is the weather. That is hardly a valid reason and at best remains a poor excuse. Whoever planned to construct toilets in July and August should have been well aware that it rains during this period. Another reason proffered earlier for the delay was the uneven terrain in the State. If the hill states could achieve this – including the North East states – what was so difficult of the Goan terrain that stumped the authorities? This is the manner in which Goa has taken forward this project, with little application of mind and little desire to actually meet it.
The temporary measures now planned should, hopefully, not turn permanent. Goa that boasts of being a tourism destination that attracts travellers from across the world needs to be swachh in all ways. Imagine, our State is the one with the least coverage of toilets for the people in the country. And why? There is no plausible answer, except that those who should have taken up this project, didn’t take it seriously.
