Why did some cities rise and others fall in the ‘Swachh Survekshan-2017’ ranking?
In some cases, it was not the ‘independent observation’ score that dragged past high performers down, but the ‘public feedback’ score. For others, though, the reverse was true.
Chandigarh slipped to the 11th spot from number 2 last time, which Mayor Asha Jaiswal blamed on ‘public feedback’.
Indore got to the top spot among all the entries due to a “mega public movement and wholehearted people’s participation”, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said.
Ms. Mahajan, who represents the Indore Lok Sabha seat, said the achievement would also break the notion that Indore was only famous for its awesome cuisine, especially ‘Poha Jalebi.’
Indore’s municipal corporation was aided by a public movement spearheaded by the Mahanagar Vikas Kendra Parishad.
Tiruchirapalli slipped from third rank in 2016 to sixth. It is still the cleanest in the south zone among cities with fewer than 10 lakh people. Officials said the slip was due to the participation of a greater number of cities this year.
It scored higher in citizen feedback category this year, but lost points in the independent observation category.
Tirupati, making an entry at number nine into the national top 10, scored with a mix of beautification measures and proliferation of public toilets.
The WoW factor
The temple town also bet on WoW (Well-being out of Waste), increasing door-to-door waste collection, waste segregation, placing litter bins at commercial complexes and using GPS-fitted dumpers, besides starting a biogas plant.
Visakhapatnam, ranked third this year, built over 12,000 individual household toilets under Swachh Bharat Mission and was certified Open Defecation-Free by the Quality Council of India.
Surat rose to number four from six, after it segregated waste more, covering 300 societies, cleaned roads, bridges, underpasses and gardens twice a week and ordered compulsory cleaning of all public and private buildings.
Mysuru City Corporation lost precious marks for failing to complete 406 individual toilets on time and fell to 5th rank from first. Surat rose to number four from six, after it segregated waste more, covering 300 societies, cleaned roads, bridges, underpasses and gardens twice a week and ordered compulsory cleaning of all public and private buildings.
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, ranked 22, got an overall score of 1,605 out of 2,000 based on citizen feedback, municipal self declaration and on-site observation. Over 2.3 lakh citizens voted in the city, which was ahead of Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai.
