Gurgaon betters position in Swachh survey, comes in at 37

The city has been ranked 37 in terms of cleanliness in the list of 73 cities surveyed by the Union ministry of urban development as part of Swachh Sarvekshan 2016.

This is the second such survey carried out as part of the government’s flagship Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to make the country clean and open defecation free by 2019.

The latest ranking are a stark contrast to last year when Gurgaon was ranked 466 out of the 476 cities surveyed.

This year, only 73 cities with a population of 10 lakh and above were surveyed by the ministry.

However, unlike the previous year, when the ministry commissioned a survey to give rankings to various municipal corporations, this time, it was left to the residents to decide where their city stood in terms of cleanliness.

As per the figures released on Monday, Gurgaon has scored 1,194 marks out of 2,000. The marks from various categories were added up to get the final rankings.

As per the citizens’ feedback on the city’s sanitation, 91% of respondents were dissatisfied with the availability of basic facilities at public toilets. Only 11% felt that the city was always clean while only 13% felt that they had access to dustbins or toilets within 500 metres.

Under various services offered, waste management (processing and disposal) scored 75 out of 200 marks while public and community toilet provisions scored 85 out of 150.

Reacting to these low scores, acting commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon TL Satyaprakash said he would hold review meetings other officials to examine where Gurgaon fell behind.

A senior MCG official said the rankings were low as the city fared badly in services such as solid waste management and public toilets.

“It is a major concern and a challenge for us. We are working on some proposals such as a better solid waste management plan, transportation of solid waste and related aspects. Our waste treatment plant at Bandhwari is lying defunct. We are trying to incorporate the best scientific methods of treatment as an interim measure and will float tenders for its revival in the coming weeks,” the official said.