Phulera first municipality in Jaipur to be free of open defecation

Phulera town has become the first open defecation- free (ODF) municipality in Jaipur district under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban).

All the wards under Hawa Mahal (west) zone in the Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC) have also got ODF tag. Till date, 71 of 91 wards in JMC, and 146 of 235 wards of municipalities have been declared ODF.

“The Swachh Bharat Mission is receiving positive results from city and rural areas because of effective participation of elected representatives and citizens and constant monitoring,” Jaipur collector Siddharth Mahajan said.

Of the 10 municipalities in the district, all wards of Phulera and all the six wards of Hawa Mahal zone are now ODF, he said.

Mahajan said the 71 ODF wards under JMC include all the six of Hawa Mahal (west), 9 of 11 in Mansarover zone, 4 of 9 in Moti Dungari, 8 of 12 in Sanganer, 9 of 11 in Hawa Mahal (east), 15 of 16 in Civil Lines, 17 of 21 in Vidhyadhar Nagar, and 3 of 5 in Amer.

Of the 235 wards in 10 municipalities, 146 are ODF -- 20 of Phulera, 13 of 25 (Shahpura), 13 of 20 (Virat Nagar), 8 of 30 (Kotputli), 21 of 25 (Bagru), 15 of 20 (Sambhar), 21 of 25 (Kishangarh Renwal), 10 of 15 (Jobner), 13 of 30 (Chomu), and 12 of 25 (Chaksu).

Rajasthan has emerged as the leading state in building toilets in rural areas, but it aims to completely stop open defecation by 2019 under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM).

Rajasthan built 26.87 lakh individual toilets in rural areas under the SBM in 2016-17, reveals the union ministry of drinking water and sanitation data. West Bengal, which added 23.08 lakh individual toilets in 2016-17, was at the second spot.

The number of individual toilets in the state has gone up to 54.83 lakh since the SBM was launched in October 2014.

Six districts -- Pali, Jhunjhunu, Churu, Chittorgarh, Hanumangarh, and Ajmer -- have been declared ODF, but the state government’s target was to end open defecation in 10 districts by March-end.

Swachh drive in Rajasthan

Toilets built since Oct 2014: 54.83 lakh

Toilets built in 2016-17: 26.88 lakh

No. of ODF districts: 5

No. of ODF gram panchayats: 4,914

No. of ODF villages: 19,629