Though people defecating in the open continues to be an ugly sight in the city, Mumbai got revalidated as an open-defecation free city (ODF) by the quality council of India (QCI), a Union government affiliated agency, on July 6.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted about the certification congratulating the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and civic chief Ajoy Mehta on Friday. The city received its first validation by QCI in January and after that the agency held another assessment in the first week of July, said civic officials.
According to the certification, the city will be re-assessed every six months by QCI. Mehta said BMC has constructed 1,318 toilets in six months, when not more than 300 were made available in the last decade. He said, "We have ensured that there is a toilet in every 500 meters of OD areas. We have deployed clean-up marshals in every ward to impose penalties on people defecating in the open."
{{/usCountry}}According to the certification, the city will be re-assessed every six months by QCI. Mehta said BMC has constructed 1,318 toilets in six months, when not more than 300 were made available in the last decade. He said, "We have ensured that there is a toilet in every 500 meters of OD areas. We have deployed clean-up marshals in every ward to impose penalties on people defecating in the open."
{{/usCountry}}According to data, 439 clean-up marshals have been deployed at various spots. In the last 15 days, 660 people were fined for Rs100 each for defecating in the open. BMC has also conducted 225 street plays across the city to spread awareness on the issue. On June 30, the civic body inaugurated 31 community toilets.
The BMC declared Mumbai open-defecation free in December last year. However, it said it would not take responsibility for people defecating on lands owned by other government agencies such as the railways, Mumbai Port Trust, defence land and Aarey Colony in Goregaon.
Maharashtra has a three-tier verification process to decide if a town is open-defecation free or not. First, the urban local body inspects the city, then an audit is conducted by the collector and finally the state. The cities and towns then approach the Centre seeking a certification declaring them open-defecation free under the Swachh Bharat mission.
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