Odisha Bags 9 Awards Under Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen 2.0

Bhubaneswar: Odisha has bagged 9 awards under Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen 2.0 (SBM-G 2.0) for its achievement in various programmes.

The state was presented the awards at a function, which was attended by President Droupadi Murmu as chief guest, at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi on Sunday.

Odisha won 2 awards under the “Sujlam” campaign for water conservation efforts by creating household and community soak pits for capturing the wastewater. The state also bagged 2 awards were under the Swachh Survekshan Grameen survey.

Under this, Odisha emerged second best in the east zone and Jajpur district was ranked No. 1 among all districts in the zone. Similarly, 5 awards were given for creating awareness on ODF plus through wall paintings on various themes.

Minister, Jal Sakthi presented the awards to officials from PR&DW department comprising Principal Secretary, Director Drinking Water and Sanitation; additional secretary (sanitation); Chief Development Officers (CDOs) of Zilla Parishad (Jajpur, Ganjam and Nuapada); BDOs (Jajpur, Sundargarh and Podia) and Sarpanches of Rajasunakhala and Ladhimang at the function.

Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen 2.0 (SBM-G 2.0), launched in 2020, aimed at providing toilets to new/left out households and ensuring continued usage of the toilets so that villages remain Open Defection Free (ODF).

The SBM-G 2.0 also entailed toilets in panchayat offices, schools and Anganwadi Centres; solid waste management, liquid waste management and fecal sludge management and visual cleanliness in villages.

Under the scheme, Odisha achieved ODF plus in 11,203 out of 46,785 villages at the rate of 23.9% and was ranked fourth in the country among major states.