No city from J&K gets any top rank in Swachh Sarvekshan 2018

The Swachh Sarvekshan 2018 results for ‘cleanest cities’ under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan were declared recently by Hardeep Puri, Union Urban Affairs Minister. Indore emerged as the overall ‘cleanest city’ of the country, followed by Bhopal and Chandigarh. Jharkhand is the ‘cleanest state’, followed by Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.

But, Jammu and Kasmir did not find a place in as many as 52 awards announced. Not a single city from the state received top rank in the Swachh Survekshan 2018, that was conducted by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). The various initiatives that were taken by the state government to improve sanitary woes of the state, and consequently the ranking in the survey, have shown no major signs of improvement.

Performing poorly in Swachh Sarvekshan 2016, the state had improved its ranking in 2017, when Leh was adjudged as the cleanest city from the state, ranked at the 100th position. Srinagar stood at 241 and Jammu at 251, last year. The Government appeared to have worked to improve and attain the ‘cleanest city’ of the country award. But neither the state nor any of its city seems to be the ‘cleanest’ in the pan-India survey.

Unfortunately, Jammu and Kashmir is presently one of those states which fair very poorly in terms of the cleanliness index, consequently remaining largely prone to diseases like diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, etc. There are no visible signs of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan working in the state, although the rate of efforts being made for the same, is slowly on the rise. The authorities and the citizens, collectively, need to be on their toes, if they are to initiate a 180-degree turn for the state’s cleanliness and hygiene.

About the Survey

With the launch of Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan in 2014, the cities and states are assessed every year, starting from 2015, on the basis of their Swachh quotient, from building toilets to waste collection and management. The Abhiyaan aims to achieve 100% Open Defecation Free (OFD) India, by 2 October, 2019. The third Swachh Survekshan, conducted by Quality Council of India (QCI), assessed 4,203 cities as against 434 cities in 2017.

The survey attempts to capture the progress and effectiveness of the Abhiyaan, through 6 broad parameters:

-Collection and Transportation of Municipal Solid Waste,

-Processing and Disposal of Municipal Solid Waste,

-Sanitation Related Progress,

-IEC (Information, Education and Communication),

-Capacity Building,

-Innovation and Best Practices.

The rankings are based on the data provided by municipal corporations, independent assessors and feedback from people.
Awards were announced in various categories:

-Overall National Level Award for cleanest cities

-National Level Awards for cleanest cities according to population (1-3 Lakh, 3-10 Lakh, 10 Lakh and more)

-Zonal Level Awards

-Cleanest Capital cities/Union Territories

-Best performing States

-Best Cantonment Boards

-Special awards for innovation and best practices, citizen feedback, solid waste management, fastest mover

Also: Read my article at JAMMU LINKS NEWS