HYDERABAD:Stung by the shameful 275th ranking for Hyderabad by the Ministry of Urban Developement Swachh Bharat survey, GHMC Special Officer Somesh Kumar has dismissed it saying it has ‘’no sanctity’’ and is ‘’technically unscientific.’’
Though it is common for politicos to take on Centre on various issues, this is perhaps the first time that an IAS officer from Telangana has chosen to rubbish the survey done by the central government agency.
‘’The ranking of cities declared by Ministry of Urban Development a few days ago under Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) is technically unscientific and has no sanctity,’’ Somesh Kumar said.
He went on to say: ‘’The survey was done without the knowledge of the state government and no communication regarding survey was received in this regard. Neither Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) nor Commissioner and Director of Municipal Administration (CDMA) were aware of such a survey. We don’t know when the survey was carried out and what were the parameters,’’ Somesh Kumar said.
Incidently, the Swachh Bharat rankings are based on a total of 42 marks including 20 for open defecation indicators and 22 for solid waste management indicators.
“Through the state government, we are seeking necessary details about the survey and on what parameters it was done, after getting details we will proceed further,” Somesh Kumar said.
He said that when GHMC officials contacted MoUD officials to know when the survey was done, they gave conflicting anwers, some said it was done in August, other said that it was done October and few other said that it was done in December last year.
“Definitely, Hyderabad should rank between 10 and 15 among the 476 cities in the country, In 2010 survey, Hyderabad city stood at 88 position, after that sanitation in the Hyderabad has improved substantially, how can the city ranking can go down to 275 from 88,” Somesh Kumar wondered.
Under SBM, MoUD ranked Hyderabad at 275 place among the 476 cities in the country. These rankings are based on the extent of open defecation and solid waste management practices in the cities. The survey was conducted during 2014-15 and was commissioned by the Ministry of Urban Development as required under the National Sanitation Policy of 2008.
