Secretary of Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation Shri Parameswaran Iyer reviewed the progress of all North-Eastern States on Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen (SBM-G) at a regional workshop in Guwahati today. Senior government representatives from Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura discussed the measures taken by them to achieve an Open Defecation Free (ODF) North-East by October 2018, a full year ahead of the national target of 2nd October 2019 for the Swachh Bharat. The three ODF states of the region - Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Mizoram discussed the measures taken by them to sustain their achievements, as well as go from ODF to ODF+ through solid and liquid waste management.

Earlier in the day, the Secretary called on the Chief Minister of Assam Shri Sarbananda Sonowal and discussed Assam's progress on SBM-G. The Secretary assured the state of complete support of the Government of India towards SBM-G, including the eligible funds in a timely manner. The Chief Minister reiterated the state’s commitment to achieve an ODF Assam by 2nd October 2018.

Following this meeting, the Chief Secretary of Assam Smt. T. Y. Das, along with Secretary MDWS, conducted a detailed review of the SBM-G with all District Magistrates of the state through Video Conferencing. The Chief Secretary re-iterated the importance of people's participation in the mission, especially of women. She asked the DMs to ensure concurrent reporting of progress on the SBM-G Management Information System (MIS). She encouraged the DMs to get school and college students to explain the importance of sanitation and cleanliness to their parents. She also asked them to gear up for the upcoming Swachh Survekshan Grameen survey which will rank all districts and states of India on Swachhata based on quantitative and qualitative parameters, including offline and online citizens’ feedback. (sbm.gov.in/ssg2018)

Meanwhile, the sanitation coverage has increased from 39% in 2014 to 89.5% at the national level today, with over 4.12 lakh villages, 421 districts, 14 States and 5 UTs already declared ODF.

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AR/SD