100 ULBs will be rid of open toilets by December: CM

 Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said that as many as 100 urban local bodies will achieve the ‘open defecation free’ (ODF) status by the end of this year.

Siddaramaiah, who launched phase three of the Rs 2,847-crore Nagarottana project in Bengaluru on Thursday, said that at present, of the 277 ULBs, 19 of them had attained this status. Representatives of these ULBs were presented with certificates on the occasion.

The ULBs that were certified are: Mysuru, Udupi, Mangaluru, Puttur, Virajpet, Karkala, Saligrama, Hassan, Belthangady, Kundapur, Jigani, Anekal, Sringeri, Arsikere, Channarayapatna, Mulgund, Belagavi Cantonment, Holenarsipur and Kudichi.

Siddaramaiah said open defecation was not only unhygienic but also led to environmental degradation. He said that so far, around six lakh toilets had been built under the Swachh Bharath Abhiyan.

“It’s unfortunate that the problem still persists. The government aims to make the entire state open defecation-free by October 2, 2019. We will not be able to achieve this if the authorities don’t take their responsibilities seriously,” he added.

Siddaramaiah also took a dig at the Centre for taking full credit for programmes like Swacch Bharath Abhiyan and AMRUT, despite the states sharing 50% of the project cost. He demanded that his government too should be given credit for implementing the programmes.

Siddaramaiah said that phase one of Nagarottana was implemented at a cost of Rs 1,454 crore, while phase two was being implemented at a cost of Rs 2,060 crore.

He said that all projects under Nagarottana were expedited after the Congress government came to power. Siddaramaiah, however, said that delays in project implementation under the scheme would lead to project escalation and thereby impact the taxpayer adversely. He said an action plan for phase three had been readied, while the government was in the process of floating tenders for its implementation.