Indore and Bhopal, both in Madhya Pradesh, have emerged as the cleanest cities in the country as per a massive cleanliness survey commissioned by the Union Urban Development Ministry.
The survey — Swachh Survekshan 2017 — was carried out by the Quality Council of India across 434 cities in the country and is based on the feedback of 18 lakh respondents.
The results of the survey were announced by Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday.
The top 10 cleanest cities in the country are Indore, Bhopal, Visakhapatnam, Surat, Mysuru, Tiruchi, New Delhi Municipal Council area, Navi Mumbai, Tirupati and Vadodara, respectively.
In Madhya Pradesh, all cities and towns have substantially improved sanitation rankings in 2017 over that of 2016 and 2014. The State's 23 cities and towns are among the top 100 cleanest cities in the country.
Gujarat is also close, with 21 of its cities and towns in the top 100 list. Surat and Vadodara are in the fourth and tenth position respectively.
However, Gujarat has the maximum of 12 cities among the Top 50, closely followed by Madhya Pradesh with 11 and Andhra Pradesh with 8. Tamil Nadu and Telangana account for four each. Chandigarh, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh account for one each in this group.
“I would prefer to call these results as ‘Citizens’ Verdict’ on sanitation in urban areas, given the scale and eagerness of citizens’ participation and the fact that these 434 cities and towns account for about 60% of the country’s urban population,” Mr. Naidu said.
“I am particularly happy over the fact that over 80% of the respondents reported a definite improvement in cleanliness in our cities and towns over the last year and in sanitation related infrastructure and services like waste collection and processing has improved,” he said.
A major transformation in respect of sanitation was taking place in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. “So, let us call them the ‘Movers and Shakers’ of the ongoing cleanliness drive,” he said.
Rajasthan and Punjab have five cities each in the Bottom 50, followed by Maharashtra, with two and one each from Haryana, Karnataka and Lakshadweep. Of the 62 surveyed in Uttar Pradesh, 41 figured among the Bottom 100 and this was a matter of concern, Mr. Naidu said.
“Further to our analysis of the survey data, sanitation scenario in Bihar, Rajasthan, Punjab and Kerala also appear to be a matter of concern, requiring these States to step up efforts,” he said.
In respect of Bihar, out of the 27 cities surveyed this year, 19 of them were ranked beyond 300 and the best rank for the State being 147 for Biharsharif. Fifteen cities are among the Bottom 100.
In the case of Rajasthan, 18 of the 29 cities are ranked beyond 300, with 13 among the Bottom 100. Best rank that the State could get is 171 for Bundi.
In Punjab, 7 of the 16 cities surveyed figure among the Bottom 100 with the best rank being 121 for SAS Nagar.
