#SwachhSurvekshan2017: Experts question study, say more parameters required to rank cities

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in New Delhi has questioned the methodology employed by the Swachh Survekshan 2017 to determine the cleanest cities in India.

Last Thursday, Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu released the Swachh Surveksha 2017 report in New Delhi. Indore in Madhya Pradesh topped the list of cleanest cities. This was followed by Bhopal and Vishakhapatnam, while Surat and Mysore also made it to the top 5 cleanest cities, according to the government cleanliness ranking.

The parameters chosen by the Swachh Surekshan team while choosing the cleanest cities

While CSE justified the positioning of Mysore and Surat, Swati Singh Sambyal, a waste-management expert with the organisation told DNA that Indore and Bhopal topping the list doesn’t make sense. “While there is engagement between the community and the municipality, all the garbage is taken away from the city and dumped. There is no waste management as such,” she said.

However, municipal authorities in Indore had earlier said that for solid waste management, Indore's Nagar Nigam set up six sub-stations in the city's outskirts in October to sort out wet and dry garbage and also for garbage segregation. "All the waste collected by garbage collection trucks is taken to these sub-stations where polythene is separated from solid waste. A special team collects all the polythene bags which is then processed and used to build asphalt roads or sent to local cement factories to be used as fuel. The remaining solid waste is dumped using JCBs and dumpers at the garbage disposal Tinching ground for decomposition," an officer said.

A special team is set to collect all the polyethene bags which is then processed and utilised for making asphalt roads, moreover, the other type of polyethene is sent to the cement factory, to be used as fuel.

In fact, in a press release, CSE said, "The cities are focussing on collection of unsegregated waste and transporting it to landfills, with a very minimal quantum of waste being processed. The top three cities are dumping unsegregated waste. These cities are, therefore, not meeting the statutory requirements of the Municipal Solid Waste Rules (MSW Rules), 2016."

Citing the examples of Alappuzha in Kerala and Panaji in Goa, Sambyal said that both these cities, along with Mysore, have employed a model where garbage segregation is decentralised. This means that locals are involved in the collection and segregation of garbage. “The wet waste is used as compost, while the dry garbage is collected by authorities once a week and used to recycle. In fact, the model in Panaji is such that people know where to send 30 items for recycling,” she said.

Sambyal added that local involvement has saved the municipal authorities lakhs of rupees, which should have also been taken into consideration while scoring the cities. “If we would take the cities that have implemented a decentralised model, and understood the importance of local involvement in waste management, then Alappuzha, Panaji, Mysore, Ambikapur (Chhattisgarh) and Suryapet (Telangana). Ambikapur and Suryapet came 15 and 30 respectively in the government ranking, Panaji was 90, and Alappuzha was ranked 380.

Former Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation official Seema Redkar added that she didn’t agree with the way the study was conducted. “It’s unfair to compare a city like Indore to Mumbai. Indore has one municipal corporation, but Mumbai has several bodies such as the BMC, MMRDA, SRA and the MHADA operating the city. Yet, despite this, Mumbai, while having a 55% slum population, has done a good job,” she said.

Adding that while smaller cities need to function using a decentralised model, there needs to be municipal intervention in larger cities. “Having said that, the citizens need to be more proactive when it comes to waste segregation,” she added.

While Indore may celebrate its success, maybe it’s time to focus more on waste segregation for a Swachh Bharat.