Nagaland government exuded confidence of making the state an Open Defecation Free (ODF) state by 2019.
State Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio had held an interaction with the Secretary in the Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation, Parameswaran Iyer in this regard.
Later in his official Tweeter handle, Rio tweeted: ‘A very fruitful interaction with Iyer. We are hopeful of making our State ODF with support of people and community’.
The Secretary in the Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation, Parameswaran Iyer also tweeted that he had a ‘good meeting’ with Nagaland Chief Minister.
The Secretary in the Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation also added that Nagaland was on the ‘right track’ to become ODF in the coming months.
Iyer also called on State PHE Minister, Jacob Zhimomi and briefed him about the status on SBM-G activities in Nagaland.
Meanwhile, a review meeting of Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G) activities across the State was held in Kohima.
The review meeting was organized by Water and Sanitation Support Organization (WSSO) of the State PHE department.
The meeting was addressed by the Secretary in the Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation and State Chief Secretary Temjen Toy.
Iyer later said that Nagaland should be declared an ODF state by June 30, 2018 and that ‘all the responsible officials should work with a mission mode to achieve the target’.
Reiterating that Swachh Bharat Mission was a top priority mission of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the secretary urged all responsible officials to complete the task as per the timeline with commitment and dedication.
Notably, so far four districts of Nagaland – Mokokchung, Zunheboto, Kiphire and Longleng have been declared as open defecation free.
It was also resolved during the meeting that five other districts – Dimapur, Phek, Wokha, Peren and Kohima will be declared ODF soon.
The remaining districts will also be declared ODF at the earliest.