The Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Kiran Bedi has announced that there will be no distribution of free rice if villages are not open defecation free and clean.
According to a report in The Indian Express, Kiran Bedi has stated that the distribution of free rice to people shall be conditional to the certification of the village being open defecation free and free of strewn garbage and plastics by submitting a joint certificate given by the MLA and the Commune Commissioner of the commune panchayat.
Bedi has set a deadline for 4 weeks to the concerned authorities in the villages to keep their surroundings clean. She has released an official statement expressing her displeasure at sanitary conditions of the villages in the Union Territory and has stated that the community leaders in the area have not shown participation in Swachh campaigns to keep their villages clean.
Kiran Bedi has announced in the statement that the directions have been issued to the Director of Civil Supplies in this regard and villages will be given a notice till 31st May to make their villages clean. She has also added that the distribution of rice will be made after the certification.
Kiran Bedi shared pictures from her visit to the villages in the UT and expressed her displeasure at the present sanitary conditions of the villages.
https://twitter.com/thekiranbedi/status/990108640441982976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
About half the population of Puducherry is dependent upon the free rice distribution scheme by the government. The LG has stated that this action will inoculate a sense of responsibility amongst the people and hasten the objective of the Swachh Grameen Union Territory.
Update: The order issued by Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi now stands withdrawn.