On Tuesday, the Centre declared Hyderabad open defecation free (ODF.) It is the beginning of the year and the city is off to an amazing start.
In a press statement, it said the Swachh Bharat Mission granted the ODF tag to Hyderabad. It further explained the GHMC worked hard and built 98 public toilets including 24 toilets for women in the city. The GHMC has also urged restaurants and petrol bunks to allow the public to used their washrooms.
GHMC Mayor Bonthu Ram Mohan smiled with pride and said, “Though it was a herculean task to achieve the ODF tag, but because of the efforts and inspiration by Minister of IT, Municipal Administration and Urban development, KT Rama Rao, we could achieve this.” He further added, “In the same spirit we will continue to strive in achieving the first place in the Swacch Sarvekshana 2018.”
GHMC Commissioner B. Janardhan Reddy said, “The ODF tag given to Hyderabad has made us more responsible, and we will continue with our efforts to retain the ODF tag.”
The Centre tags the city with an ODF certificate on the basis of a third party. The Quality Council of India is tasked with conducting inspections and reporting the findings to the Centre. The third party conducted its inspection in Hyderabad last week.
The ODF tag is not permanent and requires recertification after six months. This is done to ensure there is no negligence in cleanliness once the title is bestowed on the city.
The Swachh Bharat Directorate also declared six other Urban Local Bodies open defecation free. They are Sadashivpet, Miryalaguda, Jangaon, Warangal Municipal Corporation, Mancherial and Bellampally. These local bodies will receive the ODF certificates this week.
By November 2017, 1,789 Indian cities were declared open defecation free. Nearly 2.5 lakh villages were also given the ODF tag by October 2017. Although, a research is arguing that the number of the villages declared ODF are likely false and need to be verified. The research also questions if building toilets will ensure that people use them.
The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan aims at making India free of open defecation by 2019.
