As per the latest media reports, the Additional Chief Secretary (local bodies) Dr. Manjit Singh has claimed that Rajasthan is soon going to be declared open defecation free by the end of March. As per Dr. Singh, out of 191 local bodies, 188 have already been declared ODF.
The revelation was made during the review meeting of the flagship programs of the central and state governments, whereby the Union Urban Development and Housing Secretary Durg Shankar Mishra was also present. Talking about solid waste management, it was revealed that 97% of the target has been already achieved. Reportedly, systems are in place to convert the waste into fertilizers.
Furthermore, under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), funds worth INR 3,234 Crores have been sanctioned for 29 cities and towns. As far as the govt’s contribution is concerned, the centre and state governments have given INR 493 Crores and INR 350 Crores for the project.
The state has also attained successful figures when it comes to the Smart City Mission. While Udaipur has bagged the third rank in India, Jaipur came at 12th rank, Ajmer and Kota attained the 15th and 26th position respectively.
Moving on, Rajasthan stood fifth in the National Urban Livelihood Mission. As of now, 91,000 street vendors have been surveyed out of which 38,000 have been issued cards. Under the energy saving scheme, 8.5 Lakh bulbs were distributed among the public.
The public has also availed services from the state’s flagship scheme of Annapurna that has successfully benefited 2.5 Crore people. Further, Dr. Singh said that the Mukhyamantri Jan Awas scheme has assisted people by constructing 6.4 Lakh houses with a loan amounting to INR 2,000 Crores from HUDCO. Overall, apart from getting closer to the open defecation free status, the state has apparently succeeded in implementing the flagship schemes to a reasonable level.
