NEW DELHI, October 15 — The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation under the Ministry of Jal Shakti on Wednesday published the nationwide mid-year performance audit of Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase-II, confirming that over 90 percent of verified villages have achieved the rigorous 'ODF Plus Model' certification.
According to the official dashboard data, more than 5.15 lakh villages across rural India have operationalized institutional solid and liquid waste management infrastructure, featuring community greywater soakage pits, localized plastic collection networks, and village-level bio-gas digestion under the GOBARdhan initiative. Pioneer states achieving full village coverage include Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Himachal Pradesh.
Jal Shakti leadership underlined that the transition from simple Open Defecation Free (ODF) status to comprehensive ODF Plus Model creates sustainable public health assets, reduces vector-borne disease incidences, and fosters village-level circular bio-economy value chains.
The statutory and operational design of Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase-II, the functional definitions distinguishing ODF, ODF+, and ODF++ habitations, the convergence of 15th Finance Commission tied sanitation grants to Panchayats, and UN Sustainable Development Goal Target 6.2 are essential concepts across UPSC Civil Services (GS-II: Social Justice & Local Governance) and State PSC examinations.