PANJIM: After missing out on two deadlines, the BJP-led coalition government has hastened the process to make Goa an open defecation free (ODF) State. Directorate of Panchayat has invited applications from identified beneficiaries in a bid to supply and install bio-digester toilets.
Bio-digester toilet technology, perfected by the DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation), installed in railway coaches and public places would be used in Goa too. The Goa Solid Waste Management Corporation (GSWMC), the nodal implementing agency, is likely to finalise the bidder for supply of toilets, by next week.
The State is now looking at achieving ODF before the national deadline of October 2, 2019. The total ODF coverage of the tourism hotspot is only 5.87 per cent, and interestingly, Goa is the only State where the success rate is less than 10 per cent.
Speaking to Herald, Swacch Bharat Mission Director Rajan Satardekar said that the Panchayat Director has asked all village panchayats to reach out to the identified beneficiaries, as per a survey conducted by Rural Development Agency (RDA), with the applications for supply and installation of bio-digester toilets.
He said that applications will be accepted till February 12 and from February 13 to 18, ground verification would be conducted by the local bodies. “We have to submit the final data base to GSWMC by March 1,” Satardekar said.
He said that a total 60,000 toilets are required, which will cost Rs 50,000 per toilet. “The total expenditure is around Rs 300 crore,” Satardekar said.
Satardekar also said that the process to finalise the bidder is in the final stages. “We want to achieve the target before the national deadline of October 2, 2019,” he added.
The State in the past had set October 2, 2018 as the deadline to achieve ODF, which was later extended to December 19, last year.
