Chennai slips one rung, to 44th in Swachh Survekshan nat’l survey

In 28-day survey that covered 4,242 cities, Coimbatore comes in at 42 and Madurai at 45
While Chennai scored well in segregated door-to-door waste collections, it fared poorly in cleanliness of drains | Ashwin Prasath
While Chennai scored well in segregated door-to-door waste collections, it fared poorly in cleanliness of drains | Ashwin Prasath

CHENNAI: Chennai slipped a rank to 44 in this year’s Swachh Survekshan national rankings among urban local bodies, just behind Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

Among the three Tamil Nadu cities that managed to find a place on the list, Coimbatore was ranked 42 followed by Chennai at 44 and Madurai at 45. Last year, Chennai was at 43 and was ranked 45 in 2020.

Earlier this year, officials from Chennai corporation along with Tambaram corporation officials visited Indore to learn of best practices being followed there. Indore has been ranked the cleanest city for the sixth consecutive year.

“In Indore, there is a much higher level of citizen partnership. To achieve 100 per cent source segregation, residents and the corporation must work together. The (Chennai) corporation is already investing money and resources as far as solid waste management is concerned. If residents cooperate, we can reach our goal faster,” said a corporation official.

As for the various criteria taken into consideration for the rankings, Chennai scored well in segregated door-to-door waste collection, cleanliness of markets, residential areas, waterbodies, roads and the daily sweeping criteria. It fared poorly in the cleanliness of drains and public toilets. Its least scores were with regards to citizens’ grievance redressal.

Minister for Rural Development KR Periyakaruppan receives the
award for effective implementation of Nirmal Bharat Abiyan (NBA) | Express

Considered the world’s largest cleanliness survey, the Swachh Survekshan covers 4,242 cities in a 28-day-survey. It claims to have collected feedback from 1.9 crore citizens.

Awards for Tamil Nadu

Meanwhile, Municipal Administration Minister KN Nehru received an award from President Droupadi Murmu, on behalf of the State for its overall performance in ensuring piped water connections in rural areas at the Jal Jeevan Mission awards ceremony in New Delhi on Sunday. The State had so far provided piped water connections to 55 per cent of its 124.9 lakh rural households.

According to a press statement, around 50 lakh individual toilets, and 413 sanitary complexes were constructed under the NBA scheme.

A total of 12,525 villages have eradicated the practice of open defecation. Minister for Rural Development KR Periyakaruppan also received an award from the President in New Delhi on Sunday for bagging third place in effectively implementing the Nirmal Bharat Abiyan (NBA) to ensure sanitation in rural areas of the state.

The State was ranked fifth in implementing SUJALAM 1.0 scheme for water management. An award for this achievement was also given to Minister KR Periykaruppan and the principal secretary of the department P Amutha.

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