They say small is beautiful, and perhaps this holds true for some towns and mandals, which fared much better than big cities in the State in Swachh Bharat rankings that were released by the Ministry of Urban Development.
Much ‘hungama’ was made about Tirupati (137), Visakhapatnam (205) and Vijayawada (266) featuring in the rankings.
But, small towns like Vizianagaram (58), Narsaraopeta (59), Guntur (70), Adoni (148), Nellore (156), Srikakulam (157), Tenali (166), Chilakaluripeta (187), Proddutur (198) and Madanapalle (200) fared much better than big cities. Interestingly, among the top 12 towns and districts in the State, which made it to the top 200 ranks, just five district headquarters found place on the list.
The remaining seven were mandals and towns. When it comes to Vijayawada and Guntur, the two districts, which are part of the capital region, Guntur was ranked 70, while Vijayawada was way behind at 266.
The other towns and districts that are featured on the list are Kadapa (211), Dharmavaram (224), Rajahmundry (228), Tadipatri (239), Eluru (249), Kakinada (300), Machilipatnam (301), Guntakal (322), Kurnool (330), Bhimavaram (342), Tadepalligudem (352), Nandyal (354), Ongole (357), Chittoor (367), Gudivada (450) and Hindupur (457).
The Ministry had short-listed as many as 476 cities and urban local bodies, with a population of more than one lakh.
Solid waste management
Accordingly, the survey was conducted in 30 cities in Andhra Pradesh and 11 in Telangana State. The rankings were made on the basis of adoption of solid waste management practices including door-to-door collection and disposal of municipal solid waste in cities. Cities and towns where open defecation is less and better solid waste management practices are adopted were ranked as better performers.
