Himachal Pradesh to become open defecation-free state soon: Ram Kirpal Yadav

NEW DELHI: Himachal Pradesh would soon become an Open Defecation Free (ODF) state, after Sikkim and a few others.

Minister of State for Drinking Water and Sanitation Ram Kirpal Yadav said a survey conducted recently has shown that the coverage of Himachal Pradesh is 94.25 percent which is quite good.

"After Sikkim which has a coverage of 94.25 percent, Himachal Pradesh could become another ODF state," he said.

He said that Swacch Bharat Mission (Gramin) was launched by the Government on October 2014 to facilitate states in accelerating rural sanitation coverage.

BJP Member Bimal Kashyap Sood had earlier sought to know the details of portable toilets set up in the state and also said there were schools which do not have toilets in the state.

Yadav said that HRD ministry was looking after the construction of toilets in schools.

Congress member Viplove Thakur said what was being called as part of the Swacch Bharat scheme was already being undertaken during the UPA regime under the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan.

Yadav said that under Nirmal Bharat work was being done together in urban as well as rural areas but, to expedite the process under Swachh Bharat, there is a separate campaign for rural and urban areas.