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    Bengal last hurdle as centre races to ODF finish line

    Synopsis

    Trinamool happens to be standing in the way of the Modi government’s sanitation promise of ensuring an ‘open defecation free urban India’ by October 2.

    mamata.indiatimesAgencies
    The utilisation of funds under Swachh Bharat Mission have also been dismal in West Bengal.
    New Delhi: Trinamool Congress ruled West Bengal happens to be standing in the way of the Modi government’s sanitation promise of ensuring an ‘open defecation free urban India’ by October 2.

    Even as the ministry of housing and urban affairs, the nodal ministry for Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) and the ODF promise, is working overtime to ensure that 4,378 urban local bodies are certified ODF through third party certification, the West Bengal government has refused to come on board.

    A ministry spokesperson told ET, “There has been no progress in West Bengal’s status in the last six months. The numbers are static.”

    As per ministry statistics, 4,265 of the 4,378 urban local bodies have declared themselves open defecation free. Of these, 3,700 have been certified by the Quality Control of India (QCI).

    The ministry, however, has been unable to get West Bengal on board. “The last meeting with West Bengal was held last year when the ministry’s senior officials —secretary and joint secretary— went to the state to review the progress and suggest the future course of action. Since then, we have only been following up, but with no results,” the official said adding that even the follow-up meetings through video- conferencing have drawn a blank from West Bengal. The ministry is also writing letters to remind the state of its targets.

    The Swachh Bharat Mission has been a major bone of contention between the West Bengal government and the Centre since its launch.
    BENGAL-INFO

    While Banerjee has said that West Bengal’s Nirmal Bangla Mission, implemented by the state panchayat department, predates the Centre’s project, the Centre has run down Banerjee’s sanitation initiative. In last year’s Swachh Survekshan, the Centre’s official ranking on cleanliness, 25 of the 50 dirtiest towns in India were found in West Bengal, which was ranked 28 out of 30 states.

    Though the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government in Delhi has also not been cooperating with the Centre on the Swachh Bharat Mission, the ministry has managed to push its cleanliness initiative through urban local bodies which are controlled by the BJP. Three of the four bodies in Delhi have been certified ODF and now the ministry is pushing the North Delhi Municipal Corporation to promote this initiative.

    The utilisation of funds under Swachh Bharat Mission have also been dismal in West Bengal. As per latest statistics, only 51.6% of the mission funds allocated to West Bengal have been released.

    Ministry sources indicated that apart from West Bengal, Goa is also not expected to achieve the ODF target.

    The problem in Goa has been the delay in choosing the technology for toilet construction. “The state government finalised the technology in June. So, they are lagging in toilet construction –– which is the mainstay of the mission,” the official said.


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