Gurgaon civic body intensifies campaign to improve Swachh Bharat rank

With less than three weeks left for Swachh Bharat survey-2017 to commence, which evaluates the cleanliness of cities, the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) is undertaking several last minute measures to clean the city.

A meeting of MCG officials, residents’ welfare associations, commercial institutions and sanitation associations was held on Friday, in which MCG commissioner TL Satyaprakash directed civic officials and the public to work in tandem to improve the city’s cleanliness ranking in the upcoming survey.

When asked about the last minute rush in implementing cleanliness measures to improve rankings, Satyaprakash refuted the claim and said,“The efforts have been an ongoing process, throughout the year.”

“We (civic bodies and public bodies) have to work together for a better position in the Swachh Bharat rankings. Municipal officials are working to clean up the city, but without citizens’ participation, the city will remain dirty and the efforts will be futile,” Satyaprakash said.

This year, the city ranked 36 among 73 cities that have a population of over 10 lakh. However, the 2016 survey did not incorporate public feedback. In the 2015 survey, which included public feedback, Gurgaon ranked 466 among 476 cities.

The 2017 survey will start on January 4 and incorporate public feedback, besides direct observation and municipal documentation, which is why MCG is taking several measures to garner public support for a good feedback.

Officials are engaged in public rallies, door-to-door campaigns, distributing cloth bags and have proposed to construct public toilets and community toilets.

MCG officials have carried out rallies at Jacobpura, Sadar Bazaar, Mahavir Chowk, Post Office square, Chakkarpur, Islampur, Sector 47, Nathupur, Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road and Begumpur Khatola to spread awareness on cleanliness and hygiene, while also listing their achievements in this regard.

Officials said they will cover the remaining areas in the coming weeks.

MCG also has a tie-up with Bhondsi Jail, whose inmates stitch and produce cloth bags. MCG has placed an order for 10,000 cloth bags that will be distributed to residents for a nominal price or free at major markets across the city. These bags will bear the logos of MCG and Swachh Bharat.

Sources said that the MCG is also aiming to complete the construction of at least 40% of its proposed public and community toilets. Gurgaon has only 39 public toilets for a population of nearly 10 lakh. The MCG has identified spots for construction of 133 public toilets and 26 community toilets. However, only 14 public toilets have been constructed in the city and 44 are under construction.

This was also reflected in the Swachh Bharat survey of 2015. As per official figures, Gurgaon scored 85 out of 200 in the provision of public and community toilets.

MCG will also distribute a hygiene award to a school, government or private, for maintaining clean premises. Schools have been directed to submit photographs of their premises by December 20.