While Chennai’s 100th rank in the Swachh Survekshan 2018 list of clean cities in the country might be cause for disappointment, the city has actually moved up from the 235th rank last year.
Some of that improvement might be on account of the Chennai Corporation submitting the requisite documents to the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on time this year.
Last year, when the city was ranked 235, the lapses were listed as poor performance in waste collection, lack of scientific solid waste processing, delay in construction of toilets and poor communication to bring about behaviour change. Corporation officials also failed to submit the required documents last year.
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Postive feedback
This time around, all the documentation was done on time, officials said. Much of the residents’ feedback using the Swachhata App was also positive, giving a score of 972 out of 1,400 this year. The team of officials sent by the Central Government found improvement in conservancy in many neighbourhoods, giving the city a score of 915 on direct observation.
The Corporation scored 699 out of 1,400 in service level progress, 915 out of 1,200 in direct observation, and 972 out of 1,400 in citizen feedback this year. T. Nagar resident V.S.Jayaraman said the improvement in ranking has to be taken with a pinch of salt. “Garbage clearance in T. Nagar is not being done on a regular basis. Other parts of the city would have improved. Every street in the city should be litter free. But it is a different picture in T. Nagar. There is no coordination between officials and residents. The Corporation should start with commercial establishments. Things are very bad here. They should ban plastics.” Jayaram Venkatesan of Arapoor Iyakkam said sanitation in the city had to improve. “The Chennai Corporation demolished a public toilet in Choolai, assuring residents that they would reconstruct it. But they have failed to reconstruct the toilet. Now they are planning to develop a park in the area,” he said. Open defecation remains a problem in north Chennai. “Erikkarai in Vyasarpadi does not have a public toilet. So there is open defecation,” said Mr. Venkatesan.
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“There are many places where public toilets are required. All the new toilets have been damaged or have become non-functional. Many slums do not have public toilets. The city needs more urinals. Many of the wards have just one public toilet. The manpower for sanitation has to increase,” said former Corporation floor leader V. Sukumar Babu.
A senior Corporation official said public toilets would be constructed in all the zones at an estimated cost of ₹9 crore. “We are identifying more locations to develop public toilets,” the official added.