CHENNAI: Coimbatore is the cleanest city in Tamil Nadu, securing the 40th rank in the Swachh Survekshan 2020, an annual cleanliness survey conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). No Tamil Nadu city has made it among the top 10, according to the results published on Thursday.
Based on feedback from 1,82,018 citizens, Coimbatore was adjudged as the cleanest city in Tamil Nadu. The city came 16th in 2017 and 2018. Madurai and Chennai were ranked 42nd and 45th, respectively, under the more than 10 lakh population category.
However, Tiruchy faced a huge disappointment with its ranking falling from 3 in 2016 to 39 in 2019 and 102 this year. That it is the cleanest city in Tamil Nadu in the 1-10 lakh population category comes as a small consolation. Chennai, on the other hand, has made great strides by improving its ranking from 235 in 2017, 100 in 2018 and 61 in 2019.
According to Ministry of Urban Affairs, the survey, which covered 4,242 cities and saw the participation of 1.87 crore citizens, was completed in 28 days.
It was conducted based on 71 parameters, including open defecation, garbage collection, dumpster-free street, beautification projects, public toilets and mapping of public toilets. A delay in the announcement of the survey results was due to the pandemic situation.
The MoHUA, which is the nodal agency for the Swachh Bharat Mission, conducted its first Swachh Survekshan survey to rank 73 cities (Urban Local Bodies) in January 2016. Every year, cities and towns across India are awarded the title of 'Swachh Cities' based on their cleanliness and sanitation drives as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, which was launched in 2014.