A State-level Swachh Bharat Mission workshop was organised in Ranchi . The workshop was presided by Minister, Water Resources, Drinking Water and Sanitation, Jharkhand, Shri Chandra Prakash Choudhary. Secretary, Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Shri Parameswaran Iyer, Secretary, Rural Water and Sanitation Department, Jharkhand, Shri A P Singh, District Collectors, NGOs, development partners such as UNICEF, World Bank and others were present at the workshop.
The Minister mentioned that Jharkhand will do everything possible to realize the Prime Minister’s vision of making India free from open defecation by 2.10.2019. He also mentioned that the Chief Minister of the State is roping in all sections of the society, including the corporate sector for Swachh Bharat in the State. The people’s representatives at State level – the MLAs – are also being actively involved in the Mission. He called upon the Collectors present to further intensify their efforts in engaging people, ensuring usage of toilets and focusing on behaviour change. On behalf of the State Government, the Minister assured that the State will fulfill the target of Swachh Jharkhand before 2.10.2019.
The Secretary, Shri Parameswaran Iyer, lauded the State for the speed that the sanitation programme gained after the launch of Swachh Bharat Mission, and complimented districts such as Ramgarh, Lohardaga and Hazaribagh for the progress they have made. He underlined the importance of having a robust trained team from State level down to the village level to carry out this work. He also mentioned that it was important to make further efforts to engage communities and focus on behaviour change.
The State and districts made presentations at the workshop, and the Secretary expressed his intention to learn more about the challenges in implementation and extend full support from Government of India in all possible ways.
The State was advised to converge all other development schemes, as feasible, in ODF villages to encourage them.
The State Secretary, Shri AP Singh, gave an overview of the ongoing work in the State and also presented the innovations that have emerged from various districts. The districts of Giridih, Chaibasa, Hazaribagh, Sahebganj, Jamtara and Khunti made presentations on the work going on in their districts.
Later in the day, the Secretary called on the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Shri Raghubar Das, and extended full support from the Government of India to the progress being made in the State in the field of rural sanitation.