‘Ahmedabad needs to improve solid waste management’

Ahmedabad, regarded as one of the fastest growing cities in Gujarat and the leader in solid waste management practices, was jolted when the Union ministry ranked it 19th among better sanitised cities in India. The city civic body has been seen as a leader in solid waste practice, but it has been found to lag behind Surat and Rajkot in Gujarat.

Manvita Baradi of Urban Management Centre (UMC) — which had conducted the survey for identifying better sanitized cities in Gujarat and Rajasthan, along with CEPT — said that Ahmedabad needs to improve upon solid waste management.

"The main setback for Ahmedabad comes in its denizens' habit of littering. We also found that solid waste management and disposal is not very satisfactory in Ahmedabad. Probably, the situation is like this because a lot of new areas have been merged with the AMC, causing drainage and sanitation problems," said Baradi. She added, Ahmedabad has public toilets but its use is nominal, making it useless in maintaining hygiene. Open defecation is thus seen in Ahmedabad.

She said that the AMC has done a lot of cosmetic work and actual development has been left behind. Praising Surat's solid waste system, Baradi said it has not only developed a good management system but has also maintained and monitored it.

"Surat civic body has made it a point to fine denizens if they flout norms and maintain a system to keep city clean. The lesson from Ahmedabad is that only developing a system, i.e. public toilets, are not important; propagating its use is equally important," said Baradi.