Mayor dreams of Bengaluru among 20 cleanest cities

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the mayor have an ambitious plan to improve the city’s Swachh ranking.

In ‘Bengaluru 20 by 2020’, Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun has a vision — to improve Bengaluru’s ranking way down from 194 to the top 20. “The city is addressed in many names, but not as a clean and green city anymore. It is my vision to transform Bengaluru. Increasingly, the residents aren’t identifying with the city. This needs to improve. I want to work on this,” she told DH.

For the purpose, Solid Waste Management Round Table (SWMRT) has partnered with the BBMP. Before convening a meeting with all the corporators and citizens, the mayor will hold discussions with the Election Commission, to ensure that the plan does not violate the model code of conduct.

Mallikarjun said the primary focus is on garbage collection and disposal. Little attention has been paid to public toilets and the involvement of people in keeping the city clean.

“The role of citizens and ownership of activities are where Bengaluru lags behind. For this, the role of corporators is very crucial. So, it has been decided that the matter will be discussed in the next council meeting. The corporators will have to work in tandem with the corporation and citizens. Public opinion will be taken and suggestions will be incorporated,” she said.

SWMRT’s Malini Parmar explained that the project is a huge task. “Many citizens have to actively work on it. A ‘mayor’s army’ is being created to improve the city’s ranking. Despite efforts like the two bins, creating collection points and installing GPS on garbage vehicles, the ranking has not improved. Though educated, feedback from citizens is minimal. There is a need to get them involved,” she said.

Malini added that data analysis is underway along with the BBMP, and a plan is being formulated. A presentation in this regard has been made to the mayor.