Kendrapada: Odisha has declared 45,052 villages as open defecation-free (ODF) Plus (Model) as of July 31, 2026, with nearly all of them having completed the first round of verification, the Centre informed Lok Sabha on Thursday.Replying to a question by Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi, Union minister of state for jal shakti V Somanna said 44,921 villages, accounting for 99.7% of the total, have completed the first verification, while 37,271 villages (82.3%) have undergone the second verification under Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Integrated Management Information System (IMIS).Somanna said sanitation is a state subject, while Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase II is being implemented as a Centre-sponsored scheme by states and Union Territories in rural areas from 2020-21 to 2026-27. The programme aims to sustain ODF status and transform villages into ODF Plus (Model) through scientific solid and liquid waste management and improved cleanliness.Under the scheme’s operational guidelines, villages first self-declare themselves as ODF Plus before undergoing verification within prescribed timelines. The department of drinking water and sanitation under the ministry of jal shakti provides financial and technical assistance to states, including Odisha, for implementation of the programme.
