New Delhi, Sept 9: Yesterday, the Union Rural Development minister, Narendra Singh Tomar, released the report based on the survey conducted by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) in New Delhi which laid down the fact that while Sikkim stands as the cleanest state as far as Sanitation in rural areas of 26 states is concerned, Odisha ranks at the 24th level. Sikkim has scored 98.2 per cent on a scale of 100. Kerala, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Meghalaya scored 96.4, 95.8, 90.1, 88.6, 87.9, 86.1, 80.2 and 73 per cent respectively, the report stated.
On the other hand, the states which scored low are Jharkhand having 17.7, Chhattisgarh has 19.9, Odisha scoring 24.8 with Madhya Pradesh 24.8 as well, Uttar Pradesh having 7.3, Bihar 29.8, Rajasthan 35.8, Tamil Nadu 39.2, Karnataka 44.3 and Jammu and Kashmir 45.9.
The rankings are given on the basis of the percentage of households having sanitary toilets and using them (either household or community toilets).
The survey had been taken from May to June 2015 covering around 73,176 households in 3,788 villages across the country.
On questioning about the NSSO reports that non-BJP or NDA ruled states did better in 2015, Tomar said the campaign “is for all”. When asked about his home state Madhya Pradesh securing 24th spot in the Ministry’s list and 23 in NSSO’s list, Tomar said being a minister he is responsible for the entire country and the government is taking efforts to keep the campaign active across India. Asked about states like Bihar faring poorly in the NSSO survey, Tomar said the central government is speaking to state governments on giving priority to the Swachh Bharat Mission. He said the Ministry is also organizing meeting with sarpanches from different states to bring them on board to ensure the campaign is successful. The government intends to make India open defecation free (ODF) by 2019, coinciding with 150th birth anniversary of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi.
