Nagpur ranks 27th in Swachh Survekshan 2024

 

 

 

With results of the ‘Swachh Survekshan 2024’ out, Nagpur saw its ranking improve to 27th among 44 cities with over 10 lakh population. Last year, the second capital of Maharashtra was at 86th position among 446 urban local bodies under Swachh Bharat Mission. Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, on Thursday, released the rankings in which Nagpur city scored 9,463 out of 12,500 marks in the category of million plus-population cities. The marks were distributed in four phases in which Nagpur got 8,263 marks out of 10,000. Also, Nagpur got certification in the category of Open Defecation-Free (ODF). Out of 2,500 marks in ODF certification, Nagpur got 1,200 marks. Despite absence of scientific treatment and poor source segregation of solid waste, Nagpur city has improved its ranking.

 

 

 

 

Amravati and Chandrapur cities of Vidarbha performed well in ‘Swachh Survekshan 2024’ as Amravati got 18th national ranking in 3 lakh-10 lakh population category whereas Chandrapur got 21st national ranking in the same category. Performance of Akola city was poor as it got 71st national ranking in 3 lakh-10 lakh population category. In 50,000-3 lakh population slab, Gadchiroli scored 139th national ranking followed by Wardha (149th), Gondia (278th), Yavatmal (317th), Washim (483rd) and Buldhana (524th). In ‘Cleanliness of Residential Area’ category, Nagpur, Akola, Amravati, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Gondia, Wardha and Washim scored 100% marks. Similarly, in ‘Cleanliness of Market Area’ category all 11 cities of Vidarbha scored full marks. Whereas, ‘Cleanliness of water-bodies’ category, Buldhana, Gadchiroli, Wardha and Washim scored ‘zero’ marks.

 

The marks under ‘Door to Door Collection of Waste’ and ‘Source Segregation’ categories of Nagpur city indicate a concerning downturn which should be addressed quickly. In the city’s report card, Nagpur got 30% marks in ‘Door to Door Collection of Waste’ category and just 1% in ‘Source Segregation’. Nagpur failed yet gain in getting any ‘star’ in Garbage-free City (GFC). Nagpur is the only city in the country generating revenue by selling treated water for last few years. Under Water+ category, a city must have to treat its sewage and reuse it. This year, Nagpur got the Water+ certification like previous year. The primary goal of Swachh Survekshan was to encourage large-scale citizen participation and create awareness amongst all sections of society about the importance of working together towards making towns and cities better places to reside in. “Nagpur has done relatively better this year. Last year Nagpur had scored 6,164 marks out of 9,500. Thus, the percentage scoring was 64.8, whereas, this year Nagpur scored 9,463 marks out of 12,500 with the percent scoring at 74.6,” told Kaustav Chatterjee, Brand Ambassador of Nagpur city for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to The Hitavada. “Surprisingly, Nagpur has scored only 1% under Source Segregation and 30% under Door to Door waste collection, which raise question on valuation and marking method. Nagpur Municipal Corporation should challenge such less scores under these two heads. Nagpur should have scored at least 60-70% under heads source segregation and door to door waste collection, which would have enhanced Nagpur’s position significantly,” added Chatterjee.

 

 

Despite dried up lakes and inlets of sewage in rivers, Nagpur city scored 100% marks in ‘Cleanliness of Water Bodies’ in this year’s ‘Swachh Survekshan’ ranking. The cent per cent marks in this category raising questions over the valuation criteria as most of the lakes in city have dried due to desilting process or flooded with Eichhornia weeds. Similarly, rivers in the city are turned into open drain as the civic body failed to clean all the three rivers from last many years.

 

 

To promote ‘Each One Clean One’ initiative, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, on Thursday, launched ‘Swachh City Partnership’ programme, a unique mentorship campaign where 78 top-performing cities will each adopt and mentor one underperforming city from their respective states. Under the initiative, Nagpur will adopt and mentor one poor performing city in Maharashtra. The winning cities will guide, handhold and lead the way for the others with an objective to bring the low-performing cities on top. 

 

 

Dr Abhijit Chaudhari, Municipal Commissioner and Administrator, said, “Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) is working on different projects to make city garbage-free and clean. Projects like C&D waste recycling, composed biogas project and bio-mining are some of the initiatives that NMC is working on. Like last year, this year also Nagpur stook 27th in ‘Swachh Survekshan’ and under the some parameters, the city improved its performance. Many public awareness events like ‘Ek Tarik Ek Taas’, ‘Swachh Muhalla Contest’, ‘Swachh Market Contest, Eco Bricks etc. also were conducted throughout the year. Citizens’ response to these intiatives has been enthusiastic.”