This story is from March 7, 2019

Bengaluru’s Swachh rank improves marginally, Mysuru clinches 3rd spot

Bengaluru’s Swachh rank improves marginally, Mysuru clinches 3rd spot
Bengaluru: The Swachh Survekshan 2019 results announced by the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs on Wednesday put Bengaluru at the 194th rank, slightly better than its 216th rank in 2018. However, the city still has a long way to go.
Among things that may have retarded Bengaluru’s chances of improving further are said to be delayed open defecation-free (ODF) certification and lack of waste management measures.

Of the 458 cities with over a 10 lakh population that figure in the list, Mysuru climbed to the third spot this year from the eighth position in 2018. Mangaluru occupied the second place in Karnataka (165).
So far as state-wise rankings go, Karnataka stood at the 14th place, worse than three other southern states — Andhra Pradesh (6), Telangana (8) and Tamil Nadu (12) — and only ahead of Kerala, which was ranked 21.
The ranking parameters included segregation and processing of waste at source, sanitation, ODF status, financial sustainability of local bodies and adoption of innovative and best practices.
Citizen groups expressed concern and anger. Swarna Venkataraman, member of Indiranagar I Change resident welfare association, said: “There is no proper system in place. Although the additional commissioner of solid waste management (SWM), D Randeep, is putting in a lot of effort, there is still ample scope for improvement.”

Sandhya Narayanan, member, Solid Waste Management Round Table, said she wasn’t surprised with the results given that Bengaluru has no real structure or an institution working seriously on the matter. “It is citizen groups that working hard while the government is doing nothing. There is a need for proper transportation and more processing units,” she said.
D Randeep, additional commissioner, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), said the agency had aimed to be within the top 100 this year. “We didn’t get ODF certification on time and the lack of tenders for GPS trackers in waste collection vehicles was also a hurdle,” he said, adding that they will work towards improving Bengaluru’s ranking and helping it feature within the top 50 next year.
Sandeep Anirudhan, a member of Pattandur Agrahara RWA Federation (PARWAF), said only a marginal improvement was seen in the city as compared to last year. “I am glad the ranking didn’t slip further. It’s surprising that the IT City is not utilising the power of technology to up its game in cleanliness,” he said.
SOME PARAMETERS
* Door-to-door collection
* Segregation at source
* Sweeping of public, commercial and residential areas
* Waste storage bins, litter bins and material recovery facility
* Bulk waste generators’ compliance
* Scientific waste processing/landfilling
* User fees, penalties, spot fines for littering
* Citizen grievance redressal and feedback system
* Cleaning of storm water drains
* Waste reduction
* Enforcement of plastic ban
City’s previous positions
* 2015: 7
* 2016: 38
* 2017: 210
* 2018: 216
TALKING HEADS
The Centre has politicised the Swachh Bharat Survekshan as Bengaluru’s performance has been underestimated. The city has been an icon at the international level and the entire world is looking up to it. Although the performance from last year has improved, I don’t understand what parameters were considered for the rankings
—G Parameshwara | Bengaluru development minister
We’ll analyse in detail the break-up and will prepare a roadmap for the present year to improve further. A number of new initiatives are already set for implementation this year
—N Manjunath Prasad | BBMP commissioner
———
HOW K’TAKA FARES: TOP 10
Ranking
City/town
#3
Mysuru
#165
Mangaluru
#194
Bengaluru
#231
Tumakuru
#235
Hubballi-Dharwad
#242
Chitradurga
#251
Vijayapura
#254
Udupi
#277
Belagavi
#290
Bagalkot
#300
Shivamogga
#310
Ranebennur
#311
Bidar
#324
Bhadravati
#328
Gadag-Betigar
#345
Ballari
#349
Hassan
#358
Mandya
#364
Chikkamagaluru
#366
Kalaburagi
#375
Davanagere
#388
Hospet
#405
Kolar
#413
Raichur
#414
Gangavati
#421
Robertsonpet (KGF)
Source: Swachh Survekshan 2019
End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA