What’s in store for Mysuru, the two-time winner of cleanest city tag, on Tuesday when the results of the Swachh Survekshan-2019 will be out?
The invite from the office of Swachh Bharat Mission, Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, to the State’s Urban Development Department for sending representatives to the March 6 function at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi indicates Mysuru has a reason to celebrate as the authorities here were expecting some “big news” on the ‘Swachh’ front.
Representatives from six cities and towns from Karnataka have been invited to attend the event. They include Mysuru (Swachh Survekshan 2019), Mysuru (garbage-free city), K.R. Nagar TMC, T. Narsipur TP, Periyapatna TP and Hosadurga TMC.
The Swachh Survekshan concluded on January 31 with about 4,237 urban local bodies participating in the city ranking survey. The analysis and computations of the survey results have been completed and ready for declaration, said V.K. Jindal, Mission Director, Swachh Bharat Mission. This year’s survey noticed 94 per cent achievement in Individual Household Latrine (IHHL) application target, 100 per cent of Community Toilets and Public Toilets targets, 89 per cent door-to-door collection, 60 per cent source segregation, and 52 per cent processing of waste from a mere 18 per cent in 2014 in the country.
“Swachh Survekshan manifested the tremendous impact of Swach Bharat Mission on health, employment, innovation and transformation of marginalised workers,” Mr. Jindal said in a letter to Anjum Pervez, Principal Secretary, Urban Development Department, Government of Karnataka. With 64 lakh responses in the form of citizen feedback and four crore through social media outreach, the survey turned out to be one of the biggest under the mission.
Mysuru had been shortlisted for the ranking in garbage-free city category besides the survey-2019 rankings. Interestingly, three towns from Mysuru district had been picked out. They include K.R. Nagar, Periyapatna and T. Narsipur TP.
Mayor Pushpalatha Jagannath, Deputy Mayor Shafi Ahmed, Commissioner Shilpa Nag and MCC Health Officer D.G. Nagaraj will be representing Mysuru at the award ceremony. Government sources said Minister for Urban Development U.T. Khader and a few top officials were also expected to participate. Dr. Nagaraj told The Hindu that the MCC did its best in improving the city’s status on the Swachh front and was raring to see the outcome. For the first time under SBM (urban), a seven-star rating programme for making cities garbage-free was introduced. Mysuru has qualified and also been shortlisted in the category. A city which complies with all protocols would be rated as “garbage-free” with star ratings.
The idea is to ensure no garbage or litter was found in any public, commercial or residential area except in the litter bins and 100 per cent of solid waste generated was scientifically handled. The protocol was also to ensure gradual reduction in waste generated and ensure the city’s aesthetic beauty, according to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
Door-to-door collection of waste and segregation at source; sweeping of public places and other areas to ensure no blemishes on the streets and roads; and scientific processing of waste were among the key components.
