With 3 months to national ODF deadline, 18k toilets still needed

Team Herald

PANJIM: Three months before the October 2 national deadline to achieve Open Defecation Free (ODF) status, Goa is still short of over 18,000 toilets.

After missing a series of deadlines, the Dr Pramod Sawant government has now set August 31 as the date by which Goa will be ODF and has identified the need of 18,277 bio-toilets that includes individual household and community toilets. 

In the last one year, Goa has missed three ODF deadlines it had set for itself – October 2, 2018, December 19, 2018 and March 31, 2019. The main reasons were the delay in finalising the bio-digester toilet technology to zeroing in on the contractor. 

Though almost 76 per cent of the States households have individual toilet facilities, as per data on the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (Swacch Bharat Mission- Gramin) website, Goa continued to be ranked lowest in ODF coverage with just 5.87 per cent coverage. Interestingly, Goa is the only State where the success rate is less than 10 per cent.

As per applications invited from identified beneficiaries, the requirement of bio-toilets in panchayat areas is around 17,000 with another 1,277 in municipal areas. 

Sources revealed that Goa Solid Waste Management Corporation (GSWMC), the nodal implementing agency, has identified two Goan companies – Om Ventures and Cam Industrial Services – along with three other companies – Kaya Frontier JV, LNA Infra Projects and Banka Bio Loo – for supply of 17,000 odd bio-toilets to the government, which will be distributed in panchayat areas. 

Sources said that each bio-toilet unit will be purchased for Rs 58,184, and these will be supplied at subsidised rates – for the general category Rs 4,000, for OBC Rs 2,500 and  and for ST and SC at Rs 1000. Applicants from municipal areas would be charged the same amount. 

As far as municipal areas are concerned, the government has granted permission for construction of 1,277 individual house hold and community toilets through the Sulabh International Social Service Organization. Municipalities have been directed to utilise funds provided under the 14th Finance Commission.