Lok Sabha Question No. 669 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-07-25
Subject: Criteria to Declare ODF Plus Villages
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Raju Bista

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

## DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 669 ANSWERED ON 25.07.2024

## CRITERIA TO DECLARE ODF PLUS VILLAGES

## 669. SHRI RAJU BISTA:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a)  the  specific  criteria  and  process  used  to  declare  Indian  villages  as  ODF  Plus,  including  key milestones  and  assessment  methods  particularly  in  Kalimpong,  Darjeeling  and  North  Dinajpur districts;

(b) the details of measures taken to attain hundred percent coverage of Indian villages as ODF plus particularly in West Bengal;

(c) whether the Government has data on the long-term sustainability and impact of ODF Plus status on  public  health  and  environmental  outcomes  in  these  villages,  supported  by  relevant  health  and sanitation statistics; and

(d)  the  details  of  the  role  of  public-private  partnerships  in  the  success  of  the  ODF  Plus  initiative, including examples of effective collaborations?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## (SHRI V. SOMANNA)

(a) The specific criteria and process being used to declare all the villages in the country as ODF Plus including Kalimpong, Darjeeling and North Dinajpur districts are as under:-

An ODF Plus village is defined as a village which sustain its Open Defecation Free (ODF) Status, ensures solid and liquid waste management and is visually clean. There are 3 progressive stages of ODF Plus villages:

- ODF Plus Aspiring : A Village which is sustaining its ODF status and has arrangements for Solid Waste Management OR Liquid Waste Management
- ODF Plus Rising :  A  village  which  is  sustaining  its  ODF  status  and  has  arrangements  for BOTH Solid Waste Management and Liquid Waste Management
- ODF Plus Model :  A  village  which  is  sustaining  its  ODF  status  and  has  arrangements  for both Solid Waste Management and Liquid Waste Management; observes visual cleanliness, i.e., minimal litter, minimal stagnant wastewater, no plastic waste dump in public places; and displays ODF Plus Information, Education & Communication (IEC) messages

A village that has met all the ODF Plus criteria will self-declare themselves ODF Plus at a Gram Sabha meeting. The District must ensure mandatory third-party verification of a village, within 90 days  of  ODF  Plus  declaration  for  the  first  time.  The  mandatory  third  party  verification  will  be undertaken for ODF Plus (Model) villages only. However, supervisory verification may be done for the  ODF  Plus  villages  across  all  the  three  categories  (Aspiring/Rising/Model)  by  the  officers responsible in chain of command at Block/District/State levels.

- (b) Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation is continuously pursuing with the States/UTs and supporting  them  so  that  implementation  of  the  programme  can  be  speeded  up  at  ground  level. Regular review meetings, technical workshops with the States/UTs are being conducted. The field visits  also  undertaken  by  the  Ministry's  officers  to  review  the  programme  at  ground  level  and  to know the issues being faced by the State/UT in implementation of the programme.
- (c) As per Report of Economic Survey, 2023-24, Open Defecation Free (ODF) and Open Defecation Free (ODF) Plus and Swachh Bharat Mission have led to lesser disease incidence due to cleaner practices, lesser school absenteeism due to illness and more effective nutrient absorption over the long run among the least privileged.
- (d) Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) has recognized the role for private sector in  Swachh  Bharat  Mission  (Grameen)  and  has  accordingly  released  the  corporate  collaboration framework,  which  emphasizes  the  active  contribution  of  corporate  houses  in  the  mission.  In addition, it provides the corporates an opportunity to actively engage with the community as part of their  CSR  (Corporate  Social  Responsibility)  programs.  DDWS's  framework  clearly  suggests corporate involvement through CSR interventions that promote safe sanitation through interventions that cover infrastructure development besides initiatives around training and capacity building and behavioral change. India Sanitation Coalition (ISC) approached DDWS, Ministry of Jal Shakti for a collaboration  to  engage  Corporates  in  ODF  Plus  Model  implementation  through  the  Light  house initiative (LHI) project. Light House Initiative Phase 1 is being implemented with 7 corporate and 1 development foundation across 15 State SBM-G missions under the joint oversight of DDWS and ISC.  The  LHI  partners  worked  by  empowering  the  communities  in  achieving  ODF  Plus  Model Gram Panchayats.  One  among the many  ways  of ensuring community  ownership was to involve them from the initial stages of the work through a participatory rural appraisal, discussion in gram Sabha, intensive community drives for awareness generation etc. In LHI Phase 1 out of 76 GPs, 54 GPs are declared as ODF Plus Model. The time period for LHI Phase 1 intervention is from January 2023-September 2024. Later, ISC has proposed DDWS for continuation of Light House Initiatives (Phase 2) for scaling up learnings of LHI Phase 1 which will be implemented in 14 States across 43 Blocks with 8 Corporates. (ITC, Ultra Tech, HCL, Nayara Energy, Jamna Auto, JSPL, Hindalco, BIPF).  The  implementation  period  of  LHI  Phase  2  is  from  July  2024  to  March  2025.  The  key approach of LHI Phase 2 is to demonstrate community action for SLWM, demonstrate innovative communication  &  outreach  strategy.  Develop  &  implement  credible  monitoring  arrangements. Intervention  to  augment  the  capacity  of  institutions  &  demonstrate  sustainable  operation  & maintenance models for SLWM assets.

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