Urban areas in country, except West Bengal, declared ODF: HUA

The Swachh Bharat Mission (U) has achieved its target of making urban India open defection-free, except 52 urban local bodies of West Bengal, the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry said in a statement on Monday. Out of a total of 4,372 cities, 4,320 have declared themselves ODF, of which 4,167 cities have been certified through third party verification, the statement stated.

"Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) has achieved its target of creating urban India ODF. Urban areas of 35 states and union territories have become ODF," the ministry said. Under the SBM launched on October 2, 2014, the government had declared rural India open defection-Free (ODF) on October 2 this year.

For Swachh Survekshan 2020, which was launched on August 13 this year, the ministry has introduced the concept of "continuous Survekshan (survey)" to ensure that the mission outcomes are sustained through a system of continuous monitoring and verification, it said. Swachh Survekshan 2020 is scheduled to begin from January 4 next year and will continue till January 31, the ministry said.