Mysuru can inspire Bengaluru on cleanliness
The Greater Bengaluru Authority has joined the race for securing a respectable rank in Swachh Survekshan 2026, the annual urban cleanliness survey expected to begin in March. In 2025, the IT hub had ranked 36 among 40 million-plus cities. In 2024, it was deemed the ninth dirtiest among 134 urban bodies surveyed. Public cleanliness deteriorated to such an extent that what was once celebrated as the ‘Garden City’ was colloquially called ‘Garbage City’.
Like all Indian cities, Bengaluru depends on landfills. Almost half the city’s 6,000-tonne daily waste is packed off to the Kannur and Mittaganahalli dumpsites in the suburban Mahadevapura and Byatarayanapura constituencies. The city has 768 black spots, of which 757 are cleared every day. Bengaluru Solid Waste Management is now looking for 100 acres of land in a hilly region within 40 km from the city. Bengaluru development minister D K Shivakumar has appealed to farmers and developers in Kolar, Nelamangala, Magadi and Kanakapura to give up land, and promised immediate and fair compensation. There are also plans to set up two integrated solid waste management parks on the city’s outskirts—one on government land at Gollahalli and the other in Doddaballapur, where BSWM seeks to acquire 70 acres at Rs 1.57 crore an acre. It has been a fraught journey so far with regular protests by villagers living near landfills. Already, there is ecological damage around the abandoned dumpsites of Mandur, Bingipura and Mavallipura.
This year, the Centre has allocated Rs 2,245.30 crore to Karnataka under Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0, with Rs 512.68 crore for urban sanitation projects in Bengaluru once it submits its action plan for waste processing, disposal and mechanised road cleaning. The approved projects include waste-to-energy plants, material recovery facilities, sanitary landfills, transfer stations to handle daily waste and remediation of 100.49 lakh tonnes of legacy waste. The city is looking at generating revenue by selling fuel produced from waste to cement plants. Citizens are being made to toe the line with heavy fines and threats of garbage being dumped at their doorsteps.
It is heartening to see the city trying to get its act together and strive for a better ranking. It can look towards Mysuru for inspiration—the City of Palaces was declared India’s cleanest in 2016, and found place in the elite Super Swachh League in 2025.