Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das Thursday announced the entire state as open defecation free (ODF). The ODF target for the state was October 2, 2019, but Jharkhand has achieved it a year in advance, Das said at the Statehood Day function here. Jharkhand was carved out from Bihar on November 15, 2000 by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

The chief minister also announced Lohardaga, Hazaribagh and Deoghar as total electrified districts, joining Ranchi, Dhanbad, Ramgarh and Bokaro. The electrification target for the entire state was December, 2018, he said. The chief minister said Jharkhand is second in the country in terms of development growth, fourth in ease of doing business and number one in achieving health reforms.