Mayors, Chairpersons, Municipal Commissioners and officials of 62 cities from 22 States will discuss strategies for ‘Open Defecation Free’ cities and safe treatment and disposal of human waste at a two day National Workshop on Sanitation in New Delhi to be inaugurated by Minister of Urban Development Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu .
42 Towns with a population of less than 1.50 lakh population each and 20 cities selected under Smart City Mission will be attending the workshop being organized by the Ministry of Urban Development.
Under Swachh Bharat Mission, 18 States have identified 400 cities to be made Open Defecation Free by the end of 2016. These include-Gujarat-79 cities/towns, Madhya Pradesh-68, Andhra Pradesh-66, Maharashtra-60,Rajasthan-33, Chattisgarh-32, Telangana-14, West Bengal-8, Bihar, Haryana and Tamil Nadu-7 each, Punjab-5, Jharkhand-4, Uttar Pradesh-3, Uttarakhand-3, Puducherry-2, Himachal Pradesh(Shimla) and New Delhi Municipal Council.
Of these 400 cities and towns, 42 small towns from 14 States/UTs have been invited to the workshop for guidance and advice on achieving ODF status. Eight other States attending the workshop will be those included in the Smart City Mission.
The Workshop seeks to sensitise urban local bodies to the best practices of ODF and to the next level of safe disposal and treatment of septage and fecal sludge through centralized and decentralized treatment solutions and technologies.