Port Blair, Aug 28: In pursuance of the directions of the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Govt. of India and subsequent to the achievement of ODF Plus status by the UT of Andaman and Nicobar Islands on 16th February 2022, the Directorate of RD, PRIs and ULBs, Andaman and Nicobar Administration has successfully completed the third party ODF Plus verification as mandated under the guidelines of Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase-II. The third-party assessment of all ODF Plus villages was conducted through the Village Organizations/Self-Help Groups formed under the DAY-NRLM scheme. Also, under the Janbhagidaari initiative of the UT Administration, the Self-Help Groups (SHGs) conducted a field assessment to gauge the reach and impact of the implementation of 86 Centrally Sponsored Schemes of Govt. of India.
In continuation of the Janbhagidaari initiative, the VOs/SHGs actively conducted a random sample survey of 5 percent households in each village and also made visits to public institutions such as Schools, Anganwadis and Panchayat Bhawans. During the assessment, verification with regard to the five broad components of the scheme i.e. (1) ODF Sustainability (2) Solid Waste Management (3) Liquid Waste Management (4) Visual Cleanliness and (5) Display of IEC messages were undertaken.
Four members team were assigned to each of the 189 villages and were allocated villages block-wise. Two rounds of the orientation programme for the Officials and SHGs were conducted by the State Swachh Bharat Mission Management Unit, Directorate of RD, PRIs and ULBs.
The assessment commenced in all the blocks on 16th August 2022 and has been completed within 10 days due to the rigorous follow-up and overall monitoring by the RD Department. Regular reviews regarding the progress of the assessment were undertaken with all the BDOs and field officials. The sample survey report prepared by the team in the prescribed Performa has been uploaded to the SBM (G) Integrated Management Information System.
It is worthy to mention that the UT of Andaman and Nicobar Islands is the first State/UT to achieve the coveted ODF Plus status under the SBM guidelines. The Secretary (RD/Panchayat) appreciated the efforts of the field SHGs and officials involved in the third-party verification exercise and exhorted to maintain and sustain the ODF Plus status of villages in the UT of Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
