Bengaluru's Swachh Bharat ranking baffles citizens

A City that has been battling garbage woes is surprisingly placed seventh in Swachh Bharat rankings, thus casting aspersions on the criteria adopted for assessment. The City tops the list in the category of capital cities in the rankings.

These rankings were given based on the prevalence and extent of open defecation and solid waste management practices adopted in these cities. The cities were ranked based on a total of 42 marks including 20 for open defecation indicators and 22 for solid waste management indicators.

When asked about the results, officials said that it was a positive reinforcement for the civic agency to work better. Yet, City residents question as to how it is possible.

Kiran Jeevan, Head of Department, Social Work, St Joseph’s College of Postgraduation and Research (Autonomous) said, “ I do not agree with the ratings. If Bengaluru is placed at position seven where every nook and corner is filled with either garbage or debris or stray dogs, then imagine the plight of the other cities.”
Khwaja Mazharuddin, Managing Director, Masum Consulting Services said, “Chennai is a much cleaner City. Even Pune is.

“There is so much garbage on either sides of the road here. There is solid waste lying around and mosquito menace is also high,” he pointed out.Former Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka and urban development expert A Ravindra said that there was scope for further development and improving the rankings.

“The rankings have been given based on certain parameters studied by the Ministry of Urban Development. It looked into the functioning of the local body here, which is Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike ( BBMP),” he added.

Meanwhile, BBMP Commissioner Kumar Naik said they are happy that the City has made it top 10.

Scope for improvement
 “However, there is always scope for improvement. Presently, we are focussing on making the City more efficient in solid waste management. The City will get six waste-to-energy plants at six designated spots soon. Overall, we are encouraged and motivated to work harder,” he said.