BBMP slow in collecting data for Swachh Survekshan 2019

While the data collection process for Swachh Survekshan ratings-2019 began on September 1, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is yet to kick-start the process.

Much of the delay is due to lack of infrastructure.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) guidelines mandate every participating city to provide daily updates on its performance across several categories.

For instance, local bodies must input information (online) on collection –both primary and secondary-, transport and process of garbage on a daily basis.

Nearly a week and a half after the data collection began, the BBMP is only now starting off with the process to create the Programme Management Unit (PMU) to provide the daily update, including a dedicated set-up to document and validate data.

“We’ve had initial rounds of meetings,” said Randeep D, BBMP’s special commissioner for Solid Waste Management. “We’ll set-up the PMU and deploy full-time staff to do the data validation.”

The unit would have SWM experts, environmentalists and even data entry operators, he added. He said the civic body would build on the data collected by the war room set-up during last year’s Swachh Survekshan survey. But the BBMP must validate much of the primary data gathered back then.

“The health department had issued licenses for several commercial establishments to function. But the data on how many of those units are paying commercial tax is yet to be validated,” Randeep pointed out, adding that those discrepancies will be fixed this time for a better rating.

Some SWM experts are concerned about the star rating system introduced from this year in the place of rankings, wondering if Bengaluru can manage even a single star. One of them, V Ramprasad, averred: “The city has a monumental task.”

“The MoHUA guidelines have laid Segregation at source, cleaning of stormwater drains and scientific waste processing as some of the basic criteria to get the first star. We’re behind in most of them,” he added.