JAGATSINGHPUR: The district is set to miss the target of making all the blocks open defecation free (ODF) by the deadlines unless urgent remedial measures are taken to check large scale irregularities in implementation of Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). The administration had set the target to declare all eight blocks of the district ODF by October 2, 2018. But only 232 villages of 16 panchayats against 1,219 villages under 198 panchayats have been covered so far.
The administration had planned to construct 2,70,251 toilets during 2017-18 financial year, but 173,910 toilets have been completed so far. As per the latest data, only 46 per cent of beneficiaries in Erasama block have been covered under the SBM till date. As many as 17,273 toilets have been constructed in the individual category against the target of 37,311 during the ongoing year. In Balikuda block, 22,942 families have availed the toilets against 43,980. Similarly, out of 40,832 families in Kujang block, 24,029 toilets have been covered.
In Tirtol block, out of 41,905, only 26,877 toilets have been constructed. In Jagatsinghpur block, out of 38,396, only 26,873 toilets have been built. Only Biridi block has recorded 98 per cent of construction of toilets while Naugaon and Raghunathpur blocks have registered under 80 per cent.
According to sources, gross irregularities on the part of officials of panchayat offices, rural water supply and sanitation mission besides the BDOs have led to the present situation. According to sources, people below the Base Line Survey (BLS) have been deprived of getting the toilets constructed in their homes while hundreds of rich persons have received the money in this regard.
One Subrat Nayak of Kantaballvpur village under Jagatsinghpur police limits has received work order for construction of toilet and received Rs 24,000 against Government sanctino of Rs 12,000 per each toilet. Similar cases have been reported from Raghunathpur, Tirtol, Naugaon, Jagatsinghpur, Balikuda and Erasama blocks. Following such allegations, Executive Officer of Jagatsinghpur Municipality Krushna Chandra Mohanty has started investigation to take action against these beneficiaries.
Executive Engineer, RWSS Chittaranjan Jena admitted that his department has received complaints about the irregularities. After checking the list of beneficiaries, the department has deleted the names of nearly 20,000 fake beneficiaries in different blocks. Nearly 10,000 beneficiaries whose names are not under BLS list would get toilet facilities under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, he added.