With the Government setting up a stiff deadline of making all the urban areas Open Defecation Free (ODF) in the next few months, some municipal bodies are to cross the goal-line this month itself. About 35 urban local bodies across the State out of the 72 are to be declared ODF soon.

Commissioner and Director of Municipal Administration T.K. Sreedevi said that rest of urban local bodies (ULBs) would be ODF before the Telangana Formation Day of June 2 as an action plan has been set in place for completing toilet construction including conversion of insanitary toilets.

“Half the population of Telangana lives in urban areas and there is an imperative need to make provision for toilets as open defecation - whether due to lack of awareness or attitudinal issues, is an obvious health hazard causing several communicable diseases and stunted growth among children. It also pollutes surrounding water bodies and air,” she pointed out.

Open defecation in Telangana urban is 8.38 % as compared to the national average of 12.6 %. Of the target of 1.64 lakh individual toilets and conversion of 52,567 insanitary ones; 69,613 and 6,178, respectively, have been completed. For public toilets, the target of 3,602, 2484 were done while for community toilets 1032 of 1297 were done.

About 12 ULBs are already ODF - Huzurabad, Jagityal, Huzurnagar, Suryapet, Gajwel, Siddipet, Madhira, Sattupalli, Achampet, Shadnagar, Bhongir and Ibrahimpatnam. About 18 are under the pipeline of doing so as works are in different stages and nine more are in the finishing stage.

Among these are - Korutla, Badangpet, Medchal, Boduppal, Peerzadiguda, Jalpally, Meerpet, Pedda Amberpet, Narsampet, Husnabad, Vemulavada, Kalwakurthy, Metpalli, Sadasivapet, Sircilla, Jilleguda and Nagarkurnool.

Ten best performing in remaining ULBs are: Armoor, Dubbaka, Bhainsa, Peddapallim Kollapur, Wanaparty, Manuguru, Mandamarri, Mancherial, Miryalguda. Bottom 10 are: Kamareddy, Khammam, Ramagundam, Warangal, Nirmal, Mahbubabad, Mahabubnagar, Nizamabad, Vikarabad and Andol-Jogipet.

Earlier, addressing a gathering of municipal officers, women self-help groups, sanitary workers and others at a one-day workshop to sensitise stakeholders on the mission, Dr. Sreedevi wanted municipal commissioners to ensure toilets are constructed, sanitation is maintained and there are no encroachments as it would lead to investments.

The Minister for Municipal Administration, K.T. Rama Rao, was very particular about the completion of the project within the time frame decided.

Commissioners were also told to tone up their websites and make them dynamic.

Nearly a month after the Delhi High Court rapped the Public Works Department (PWD) and the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) over the unhygienic living conditions of labourers staying over a drain in south Delhi’s Greater Kailash-I, no steps have been taken to move the workers to a proper accommodation.

Over 100 labourers and their families have been living over thenullahin A-Block for nearly a year now.

They were brought here to construct a rain-water drain, which is being built in B-Block of GK-I.

The contractor, engaged by the SDMC to build the rain-water drain, hired the labourers — some came to Delhi from as far as Madhya Pradesh — and had told them to stay over the PWD drain.

The contractor and the municipal corporation have even erected toilets over the drain for the workers, but the PWD said it has no clue about it.

‘We were told to stay here’

Over the nullah, the labourers have collected large amounts of scrap, and have made huge mounds of old furniture and timber, which is used in cooking.

The area is littered with plastic jerry cans, which are used to carry water. There are also cycle-rickshaws parked everywhere.

“We have been living here for the last one year now. The contractor who hired us gave us space here. That is how we live whenever we come to Delhi for work on any government project,” said Kalawati, a labourer from Madhya Pradesh. She is living over the drain with her daughter-in-law and children.

Another worker, Kailash said: “The SDMC asked us to stay here and gave us tents and logs to make a temporary hut. It also made toilets and bathrooms for us”.

The High Court had rapped the civic agencies for “treating its workers worse than animals”.

Pursuant to the court’s criticism, the SDMC had cleaned the muck deposited on the nullah and cleared the dhaloa.

Residents cry foul

But the residents of GK-I A-Block — mostly senior citizens — rue how the agencies have “put them through hell”.

“Earlier, the stench and mosquitoes breeding over the nullah bothered us, but now we have to bear the noises of the labourers fighting or cutting wood or cleaning utensils at odd hours. We have called in the police so many times and approached the civic bodies, but all in vain,” said Nira Davar, a senior citizen whose house is adjacent to the drain.

It was on Ms. Davar’s plea that the HC had told the PWD and the SDMC to “ensure that the workers have a decent accommodation. It is pitiable”.

But that has not happened.

An SDMC engineer associated with the work on the drain said that the situation of the workers was normal and that they took permission from other government agencies for the labourers to stay over the drain.

When contacted, an officials of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation said: “There is no rule that workers have to stay close to the site where the construction is taking place.”