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No more ‘garden’ city! B'luru comes a cropper in clean city rankings with a lowly 43 out of 45

Only Chennai and Madurai scored lower than Bengaluru
Last Updated 02 October 2022, 20:56 IST

Despite nearly Rs 1,500 crore being spent on solid waste management per year, Bengaluru drew a blank in the garbage-free city category of the nationwide Swachh Survekshan cleanliness ranking.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs announced the results on Saturday.

Officials cited delays in the preparation of reports, disputes in choosing consultants and the stringent qualifying norms for the fall in the overall ranking of Bengaluru.

Bengaluru was ranked 43rd among 45 cities that participated in the million-plus population category.

Only Chennai and Madurai scored lower than Bengaluru.

While the BBMP earned 600 points under the open defecation-free category, it failed to qualify for the ‘water ++’ or ‘garbage-free city’ (GFC) certifications, thereby losing 2,000 points.

Some of the key indicators evaluated to compete for the GFC certificate were door-to-door collection, source segregation, bulk waste processing, dumpsite remediation, plastic bans, user fees, scientific landfill sites, etc.

The civic body had applied for a three-star rating but earned zero as the BBMP did not process much of the waste it generated.

A team of the ministry, which had visited Bengaluru to take ground feedback as part of the survey, was happy with some of the initiatives of the BBMP, including a segregated door-to-door waste collection system, cleanliness on roads, city beautification, cleanliness of market areas and residential areas, etc. It, however, found the citizen grievance redress system and the cleanliness of public toilets very poor.

Sources in the BBMP said there was confusion about engaging a private consulting agency or taking the help of an in-house team. “We chose in-house expertise, which rattled the consultants that were close to a few senior officers. There was also a delay in the submission of data by a consultant who was hired last year,” said a volunteer who was part of the Swachh Survekshan.

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(Published 02 October 2022, 19:41 IST)

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