NEWS

The milestone of having 50,000 open defecation-free (ODF) Plus villages has been crossed by the country.

ODF PLUS VILLAGE

• Defined as “a village which sustains its Open Defecation Free (ODF) status, ensures solid and liquid waste management and is visually clean.”
• Among the top performing States are Telangana with 13 thousand 960 ODF Plus villages followed by Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh.
• Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen Phase-II was launched in February 2020 with the aim to ensure that all villages in the country can declare themselves as ODF Plus by the end of 2024.
• The mission towards becoming ODF Plus has several components including biodegradable waste management including the GOBARdhan Scheme, Grey water management, Plastic waste management and Faecal sludge management.
• ODF Plus villages have been divided into three categories, Aspiring, Rising, and Model, to showcase their progress.