THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala is gearing up to be declared as the first ' open defecation-free ', among the most populous states in the country with the completion of 1.90 lakh toilets in its 941 village panchayats by this November.The toilets are being constructed across the state, including in individual houses, located at critically challenged and hilly terrains, as part of the sanitation programme by the state government. Suchitwa Mission , the state nodal agency for sanitation, is implementing the plan which has a total outlay of Rs 308 crore.K Vasuki, Executive Director, Suchitwa Mission, said it was a tough and challenging task to implement the open defecation-free (ODF) programme in a state like Kerala, which is one of the most populous ones in the country having different geographical terrain ranging from hillocks to coastal regions."Though it was a challenging task, we are committed and confident that the state would achieve the new milestone by this November," Vasuki told PTI."Our target is to construct nearly 1.90 lakh (toilets) across the 941 gram panchayats in the state. Of this, construction of 35 per cent of toilets has already been completed and work of nearly 70,000 is progressing," she said."Nearly 50 gram panchayats have already self-declared as 'OFD civic bodies'," she said.Stating that the mission was getting full support from the CPIM-led LDF government in the state, she said the government took strong decision to complete various initiatives under the programme on a war-footing."Orders were issued that there should not be any financial restrictions for the project," she said, adding, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was monitoring the scheme's progress every week.The OFD programme in the state got a boost after Vijayan met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, immediately after assuming office in May last."First the state government will declare Kerala as open defecation-free on November 1. Later, a central team will visit the state and endorse the declaration after making mandatory inspections in this regard," she said.Referring to the challenges faced, Vasuki said construction of toilets in certain areas, especially in areas like water-logged, water scarcity and hilly regions, caused technical difficulties at various stages of the ongoing work."We have overcome the challenges by adopting suitable construction methods and region-friendly toilet designs after seeking the advise of technical experts," she said.As part of the programme, the Mission is also planning a post ODF programme, that includes creating awareness about the sanitation and other related matters among public.About 39,000 individual house-hold latrines would be readied in critical and geographically challenging areas with the completion of the project. Even vulnerable communities living in far off places like Attappady and Kadamakuty would benefit from this.Suchitwa Mission is constituted under local self-government with the vision of creating a waste-free, unpolluted Kerala with an emphasis on developing public hygiene and cleanliness.The Mission's work would enable a better quality of life for the people of Kerala through improved health and general well-being, economic gains, environmental beautification and overall environmental upgradation, Vasuki said, detailing the agency's nature of work."The mission is entrusted to provide technical and financial support to the local self-government bodies for establishing facilities for waste management and sanitation," she said.Based on analysis and verification, Suchitwa mission would provide technical and financial sanction to the projects submitted by local bodies and also disburse financial assistance in installments to them, she added.