After failing to find a place among the top 20 cities to be developed as smart cities in the country, the rankings of Swachh Survekshan released by Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi today have come as a major relief for the city.
The city has bagged the second position in the list of the cleanest cities in India. Chandigarh has improved its position from 10th in the 2014 survey to second in the latest survey.
The rankings are based on the survey conducted by the Quality Council of India, which is associated with the Urban Development Ministry.
The survey was conducted to assess the measures taken by the cities to improve sanitation, present service levels, including infrastructure developed and in progress, deployment of men and machines, strategies being followed, efforts being made to bring about behavioural changes and the overall impact of the Swachh Bharat Mission, besides promoting a spirit of competition among the cities.
Of the total 2,000 marks based on weightage for different components, top-ranked Mysuru scored 1,749 (87.45 per cent) whereas second-ranked Chandigarh scored 1,716 (85.8 per cent).
What the MC did in the past one year
· Bio-methanation plant started in the Industrial Area, Phase I, to process hotel kitchen and horticulture waste.
· As part of the sanitation plan, night sweeping started for roads dividing sectors.
· Sector-wise sanitation monitoring committees, comprising members of the Residents Welfare Association, Market Association and senior citizens, constituted.
· To check littering, the MC started issuing challans to violators. As many as 3,543 challans were issued to defaulters last year.
· Segregation of waste at the household level was started in Sectors 48, 49, 50 and 51.
· Information regarding sweepers deployed in sectors was provided on the MC website under “Pados ke Mitr”.
Only 3 on smart city list among top 10
Only three cities (Surat, Visakhapatnam and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), which were selected among the top 20 cities to be developed as smart cities, figured among the 10 cleanest cities of the country. Ludhiana, which was on the 19th position in the smart city list, got the 34th rank in the list of cleanest cities.
How the survey was carried out
· The Quality Council of India deployed 25 teams involving a total of 100 trained surveyors for verification of documents, field observation and obtaining citizen feedback.
· Citizens’ response to a set of questions was sought through the Interactive Voice Recording System, a minimum of 1,000 per city or 0.1 per cent of the city’s population.
· The survey team visited 42 locations in the city, including slums, railway stations, bus stands, main market areas, toilet complexes and religious places.
· Of the total 2,000 marks, 1,000 were assigned for the documented claims of cities in respect of their efforts, initiatives, infrastructure, present service levels and efforts made for behavioural change communication.
· 500 marks for independent evidence-based observation of surveyors and another 500 marks for citizen responses.
Sanitation management
· City generates 370 tonnes of waste daily.
· 270 tonnes of waste goes to the garbage processing plant in Dadu Majra.
· The remaining 100 tonnes is dumped in the dumping ground at Dadu Majra.
· There are 36 Sehaj Safai Kendras in the city.
· The MC has nearly 4,000 employees to clean the entire city. Nearly 1,200 employees are regular whereas the remaining employees have been hired through contractors.
How city fared in the 2016 survey
· 1st In North India
· 1stAmong the union territories
· 1stIn citizens’feedback
· Overall second position in the survey
Confusion over last year’s ranking
· Last year, when the Centre had released the Swachh Bharat Mission rankings, Chandigarh was placed at the 21st position. The UT had submitted its objection to the survey. However, on Monday, the Union Government maintained that the ranking of the city in the last suvery was 10th.
Scope for improvement: Mayor
· “This is good news. However, there is still scope for improvement and in the coming months, the MC will put in extra efforts to make the city more beautiful.”— Arun Sood, Mayor
· “This is a tribute to Chandigarhians. Irrespective of the ranking, the city is number one and we will build on this continuously by closely collaborating with citizens to ensure that not only in cleanliness but also on other parameters of livability, we attain and retain the number one position.”— Vijay Kumar Dev, UT Adviser
· “I dedicate this award to MC workers, especially safai karamcharis, who put in a lot of hard work to maintain the city, and to residents, whose positive feedback helped the city in bagging the second position.”— B Purushartha, MC Commissioner
· “MC workers went the extra mile to help the city secure the second position. The MC plugged several loopholes, especially those pertaining to solid waste management. The MC staff will now make more efforts to help the city secure the first position in the next survey.”— Rajiv Gupta, MC Joint Commissioner
· “Cleanliness is related to health, sanitation, disease-free environment, clean air and finally happiness. Cleanliness is the first condition of making the city liveable. The ranking will also help the city in the smart city competition.”— Danish Ashraf,Nodal officer for smart city project
· “There is nothing new in getting the award. Earlier also, Chandigarh had got awards on the sanitation front. The actual credit goes to residents of the city.”— Pardeep Chhabra, city Congress president
· “The second ranking is good, but there are still serious issues such as solid waste management in the city that need attention. Serious efforts need to be put in the coming year to attain the top position.”— Surinder Bahga, nominated councillor