The transformation of the state of Uttar Pradesh under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is going to go down in the history of independent India as one of the most inspiring success stories and is sure to set new benchmarks in good governance.
In yet another massive stride towards becoming an ideal state, the government machinery in Uttar Pradesh is set for a massive exercise of building 20 lakh toilets every month till October 2nd this year in order to achieve the open defecation free (ODF) status for the state, a year ahead of the national deadline. This has been confirmed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanth during the NITI Aayog governing council meeting chaired by PM Modi. This massive exercise involves building 74 lakh toilets in the rural areas and around 6 lakh toilets in the urban areas. To that end, Uttar Pradesh is looking at the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
Government officials say that if this ambitious target is achieved then it is going to be a total turnaround for the state of Uttar Pradesh. Earlier, Uttar Pradesh was seen as among the two worst performing states which were a threat to PM Modi’s October 2019 deadline for making India open-defecation free. However, Uttar Pradesh has surprised one and all as it has suddenly become the top performer in this sector in the last one year. This will also allow the country to turn open-defecation free well within the deadline period. A senior government official stated, “As the state with the biggest job at hand on toilet construction is now showing great speed, the national target is achievable ahead of time in 2019.”
Out of 2.69 lakh rural households in the state, 1.94 lakh households have already been provided individual toilets till date. On the other hand, 3.69 lakh toilets have been built so far in urban areas of Uttar Pradesh and another 1.46 lakh toilets are undergoing construction as against a total target of 8.87 lakh toilets. Much of this development has happened in Uttar Pradesh only after the Yogi government stormed to power in the state. Before the BJP came to power in 2017 in the state, Uttar Pradesh had only 47% toilet coverage under Swachh Bharat (Grameen) as on April 30, 2017. The situation was even worse as on October 2, 2014 when the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan began. At that time, toilet coverage was a meagre 37% in Uttar Pradesh. Therefore, in the first two and a half years, when the Akhilesh government was at the helm of affairs, merely 10% progress took place. However, things started moving quickly ever since the Yogi government took charge of affairs and there has been a massive surge in the total number of toilets that have been built. In a matter of just a little more than one year, toilet coverage in Uttar Pradesh has reached 74% and the state is fast moving towards the ambitious target of making it open-defecation free.
This is not only about the inspiring turnaround in Uttar Pradesh but also an indicator of how the government has lived up to its promise. Prime minister Narendra Modi had promised to the nation when he came at the helm of affairs that the nation would be open-defecation free by Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary, i.e. October 2, 2019. Earlier this year, union minister Hardeep Singh Puri had stated that the nation is set to achieve this target well within the deadline period. Now, this development coming from Uttar Pradesh is a shot in the arm for the entire programme itself. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath is the man of the moment and deserves all the credit for this impressive feat.