Mysuru was the only city from Karnataka that figured among the top 25 in the Swachh Survekshan 2020 ranking announced on Thursday. Mysuru, with a score of 5,298.61 out of 6,000 marks, is ranked fifth overall in the country across all categories based on population.
Bengaluru is ranked 37th (2,656.82) among the cities with a population of more than 10 lakh, a category in which only 47 cities across the country were reckoned for ranking.
The saving grace for the State capital was that it was ranked the best ‘Self-sustainable Mega City’ at the national level among ULBs with a population above 40 lakh.
In the overall ranking, Bengaluru slipped to 214 spot from 194 last year. Citizen activists and waste management experts said the poor showing reflected the failure of the city to adhere to the basic fundamental concepts of solid waste management such as door-to-door collection of segregated waste, transportation and processing.
There were some surprises for smaller towns in Karnataka. Places such as H.D. Kote, Hunsur, Periyapatna, Kadur, and Holalkere also find a mention among the top achievers in their respective categories.
For instance, H.D. Kote was adjudged best for citizens feedback among towns and cities with a population below 25,000 for the south zone. Kadur was adjudged the best city for innovation and practices among ULBs with a population between 25,000 and 50,000 in the south zone.
Similarly, Ramanagaram was adjudged the best city for innovation and practices among ULBs with a population of 50,000 and 1 lakh in the south zone, while Hunsur was adjudged the best city for citizens feedback under the same category.
Mysuru City Corporation Health Officer Dr. D.G. Nagaraj said Mysuru had been consistently ranked high at the national level, underlining the institutional mechanism in place to handle solid waste generated in the city. Mysuru generates nearly 450 million tonnes of solid waste bulk of which is recycled and two more waste recycling plants have been sanctioned which will shore up the city’s hygiene quotient and its rankings in future edition of the swachh surveys, said Dr. Nagaraj.
Swachh Survekshan is an annual exercise conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs , Government of India, to assess the levels of cleanliness and hygiene in urban areas of the country.
The focus of Swachh Survekshan 2020 was segregation of waste, treatment and recycling of waste water, reduction of solid waste based air pollution, and capacity utilisation of wet waste processing facilities among others.
The rankings were based on the score obtained in the survey which carried a total marks of 6,000 of which Direct Observation (by the independent observers) accounted for 1,500 or 25% of the marks. Citizens feedback accounted for another 25% of the total score.
In all, 4,242 ULBs were covered under the survey apart from 62 cantonment boards and 97 Ganga towns.
