BENGALURU: Bengaluru, which ended up as the fifth dirtiest city in the previous Swachh Survekshan survey, is undertaking massive clean-up drives across the five city corporations, hoping to improve its ranking at least this year.
Teams of workers are diligently cleaning up flyovers, stormwater drains, underpasses, major junctions and beautifying black spots, among others.
However, solid waste management (SWM) experts point out that these frantic cleanups would not fetch more marks in the annual cleanliness survey conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
Speaking to TNIE, SWM expert V Ram Prasad, who has worked with the erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike for previous surveys and with other cities, including Srinagar and Ranchi, on pro bono basis said, “The survey has been happening for the past ten years, and still officials are not clear how the ranking is given.”
Comparing the survey to a board exam, Prasad said, “Officials are not aware of the distribution of marks -- a total of 12,500 marks. There is a detailed bifurcation of 10,500 marks.
While sections like visible cleanliness, solid waste management, advocacy for Swachhta, carry 1,500 marks each, ecosystem strengthening, access to sanitation, citizen feedback and grievance redressal, segregation, collection and transportation of waste, and used water management carry 1,000 marks each. The previous year’s ranking should be used as a marks card to improve the areas where the city scored low.”
Clearing up black spots, plogging and other activities will help address the issue temporarily, but will not help improve ranking. The cleanups shouldn’t be restricted to days before the assessment but be a regular exercise. We should address the root cause,” he said.
Also, according to guidelines of the 10th edition of Swachh Survekshan, urban local bodies (ULBs) formed on or before December 31, 2024, will be assessed in the current survey (2025-26). As the five city corporations under Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) were notified in September last year, Bengaluru can take part as a single unit, and the five corporations can take part in the survey independently in the next survey (2026-27), after a request to MoHUA.
This year places weightage on round-the-year citizen feedback through digital platforms, complaint redressal, Prasad said, adding that there is no visible step taken. Officials from the Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML) said they have taken a slew of measures post the survey last year, including improving segregation, which is 60 per cent according to them, introduction of Kasa Kiosks, clearing of black spots and IEC activities in public places and schools etc.
“Despite our best efforts in using treated water to fill lakes, we did not get good marks last year. We are hopeful that all our efforts in keeping Bengaluru clean will be recognised,” a senior official from BSWML said, adding that they are hoping to get a rank within the top ten spots this year. GBA Chief Commissioner M Maheswar Rao said the five city corporations have been directed to keep the city clean and take measures to improve Swachh rankings. We are hopeful of getting a good rank this year, he said.