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Open Defecation Free (ODF) Gujarat? Over 9 lakh homes lack toilets

Ironically, the state was declared completely Open Defecation Free (ODF) in February.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state is lagging behind in implementation of his pet sanitation programme, with a report saying that 9.34 lakh households in Gujarat do not have toilets. The report was tabled by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in the state Assembly on Wednesday.

Ironically, the state was declared completely Open Defecation Free (ODF) in February.

The audit agency also observed that around 29 per cent of the population in surveyed villages did not have access to a toilet, indicating open defecation. It also observed that toilets in 36 out of 120 villages lay unused due to unavailability of soak pits, or unavailability or inadequate supply of water.

CAG surveyed villages in Banaskantha, Chhota Udepur, Dahod, Dang, Valsad, Patan, Jamnagar and Junagadh districts.

In it's election manifesto, the ruling party in state – BJP — had promised water connections to toilets built under Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Gujarat BJP chief Jitu Vaghani made the announcement while reading out the salient features of their party's manifesto in Ahmedabad in December 2017.

"(The) Audit observed that the district administration had declared all the districts as ODF on achieving the targets set out in the baseline survey conducted by panchayats, and the Rural Housing and Rural Development Department as early as 2012," the report said. "However, this list was not updated after 2012 and therefore, a number of households did not have any access to toilets and they remained uncovered."

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