Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: 1,100 towns, cities to be declared open defecation free by 2 October

New Delhi: Around 1,100 towns and cities in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Kerala and Telangana are set to be declared open defecation free (ODF) by 2 October, the day the Centre launched the ambitious 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' in 2014.[caption id="attachment_2822994" align="alignleft" width="380"]

Representational Image. AFP[/caption]With Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Chandigarh having declared their 281 cities and towns as ODF, a total of 1,418 towns and cities would become open defecation free by this October.Chandigarh is the only Union Territory to have become ODF.These nine states and the Union Territory account for 39 percent of the total 4,041 cities under the campaign.The information was provided during the review meeting of the progress of Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) by Urban Development Secretary DS Mishra Monday.Mishra asked the officials concerned to pursue with the states/UTs lagging behind like Goa, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Jammu and Kashmir and northeastern states for speeding up construction of toilets which is necessary for the ODF status, an official release said.He also stressed on the need for Solid Waste Management projects.