Over 50,000 ODF plus villages in India, says govt

The country has over 50,000 ODF plus villages with Telangana and Tamil Nadu having the highest number of such villages, the government said on Friday.An ODF plus village is one that sustains its open-defecation-free status, ensures solid and liquid waste management and is visually clean.This includes ensuring all households as well as the primary school, panchayat building and Anganwadi centre, have access to toilets.

The country has over 50,000 ODF plus villages with Telangana and Tamil Nadu having the highest number of such villages, the government said on Friday.

An ODF plus village is one that sustains its open-defecation-free status, ensures solid and liquid waste management and is visually clean.

This includes ensuring all households as well as the primary school, panchayat building and Anganwadi centre, have access to toilets. Also, all public places and at least 80 per cent of households should effectively manage their solid and liquid waste and have minimal litter and minimal stagnant water.

The top-performing states include Telangana with 13,960 ODF Plus villages; Tamil Nadu 11,477; Madhya Pradesh 3,849; Odisha 2,991; Uttar Pradesh 2,605; Uttarakhand 2,603; Himachal Pradesh 2,573; Karnataka 2,021 and Chhattisgarh 1,936, an official statement mentioned.

The mission towards becoming ODF Plus has several components such as biodegradable waste management, including the GOBARdhan Scheme, Greywater (liquid waste from kitchen and laundry) management, plastic waste management, and faecal sludge management. ODF Plus villages have been divided into three categories -- aspiring, rising, and model -- to showcase their progress. Aspiring villages are those which have arrangements to manage either solid or liquid waste. Rising villages have arrangements to manage both, and a Model village is the one that not only manages its waste but is also visually clean.