Uttar Pradesh’s Yogi Govt fails to meet open defecation free target

The Uttar Pradesh Government fails to meet its target yet again. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had declared that Uttar Pradesh would be Open Defection Free (ODF) by October 2 this year. But on Tuesday, October 2, while addressing people at the concluding session of the “Swachchata Hi Seva Hai” campaign on Gandhi Jayanti, the Chief Minister declared that only 34 districts of Uttar Pradesh’s 75 districts are Open Defection Free. Adityanath has now set another deadline—November 30, 2018.

By the CM’s own admission, only 34 districts being declared ODF is not even 50% of the target. Officers who are working in this field say that Uttar Pradesh cannot meet the new deadline of November 30 too. “Uttar Pradesh needs at least six months to become ODF. That too, if Government gives money and awareness campaigns are focused and launched with vigour across the state,” the official said.

There is also a catch in Adityanath’s claim that 34 districts are being declared ODF, as officials say that actually till date only 14 districts have been declared ODF. “Out of 850 blocks, only 220 are being declared ODF. This is slightly over 25% of the total blocks. The gap is very big and needs a systematic evaluation whether UP can become ODF within next six months,” sources in the UP Swachhata Mission said.

Interestingly, the website of the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation claims that over 46,000 villages out of 58,000 villages in Uttar Pradesh have declared themselves as ODF, but actually verification in just over 13,500 villages has been carried out. This means less than 25% of the villages are actually ODF.

The ODF target is not the only one missed by the Yogi Government. Following are some more promises which have missed their deadline.

Targets missed by Yogi Government

• Uttar Pradesh will go Open Defecation Free by October 2
• Plastic and thermocol to be banned in Uttar Pradesh by October 2.
• Uttar Pradesh Roads will be make pothole-free by June 2018
• Electricity supply of 24 hours in cities, 20 hours in Bundelkhand and tehsils and 18 hours in villages by March 2018.
• Improvement in law and order

Aradhana ‘Mona’ Mishra, Congress legislator for Rampur Khas, said “CM had declared on the floor of Vidhan Sabha, not once but twice, that UP will be declared ODF by October 2. This declaration was a commitment and this government failed to fulfil that promise,” she said.

In fact said Mishra, “Government is bound to miss the next target too because of two reasons. One, money sanctioned for construction of toilets is very less and two, no arrangement is made for water. In a state where people do not have water to drink how can they use it in toilets,” she said.

Government pays ₹12,000 for construction of toilets.

“This is a government of jumlas which can claim any achievement. There is nothing at the ground but the government is busy in rhetorics,” said Leader of Congress Legislature Party, Ajay Kumar Lallu.