Dimapur, February 4 (MExN): The Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC) will now penalize people for defecating or urinating in the open.
According to a notice issued on February 4, anyone found defecating in the open in the DMC jurisdiction will be fined Rs 200 as penalty.
DMC administrator Albert Ezung on Thursday informed that the entire DMC jurisdiction has been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) +. As such, anyone found defecating in the open in its jurisdiction would be fined.
What is ODF+?
On October 2, 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan – a nationwide cleanliness campaign which set a goal of achieving ‘clean India’ and to eliminate the practice of open defecation by October 2, 2019.
ODF is short for Open Defecation Free and it stands for the termination of faecal oral transmission defined by no visible faeces found in the environment/village and every household as well as public/community institutions using safe technology option for disposal of faeces.
As per the protocol document issued by the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), a city/ward/work circle can be notified/declared as SBM ODF+ city/SBM ODF+ ward/SBM ODF+ work circle if, at any point of the day, not a single person is found defecating and/or urinating in the open, and all community and public toilets are functional and well maintained.
Cities that have been certified ODF at least once on the basis of the ODF protocol laid down by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MOHUA) shall be eligible to declare themselves as SBM ODF+ and apply for certification of SBM ODF+ status.
