Small towns beat big cities in cleanliness ……Mahendra Kumar Singh
No metro in top 10 among 25 clean cities
No metro in top 10 among 25 clean cities
New Delhi: They may not have the glamorous tag but when it comes to cleanliness and sanitation,smaller cities like Chandigarh,Mysore,Surat,Tiruchirapalli and Jamshedpur have beaten the metros in the sanitation rating released by the Union urban development ministry on Monday.
Not surprisingly,Chandigarh is on top,followed by Mysore,Surat,New Delhi Municipal Council area and Delhi Cantt in the top five list of civic areas graded by independent agencies appointed by the ministry.Cities like Tiruchirapalli,Jamshedpur,Mangalore and Rajkot fall in the top 10 list out of 441 cities and towns with a population of more than one lakh subjected to the test.What could surprise many,Kanpur,once a major industrial city and considered quite polluted,ranked 10th in the list.
With an ambitious task of 100% sanitation,the ministry took up the rating exercise with the objective of promoting safe sanitation in 400 cities and towns across the country.
Though Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) could not make it to the list of top 25 released by the ministry,metropolitan areasNavi Mumbai,Bangalore and Chennaigot the 11th,12th and 13th rank,respectively.Kolkata could manage the last rank in the list of top 25 cities and towns.Cities and towns have been rated on parameters such as complete elimination of open defecation,elimination of open scavenging,safe collection and disposal of human excreta.
On the basis of the rating,cities are been classified as Red,Black,Blue and Green which would denote increasing level of achievement of good environmental and health outcomes.The overall sanitation standard in cities and towns in the country was reflected in the fact that not a single city could achieve the top most classification of Green,while only fourChandigarh,Mysore,Surat and New Delhi Municipal Council areacould find a place in second best classification of Blue.
Though the ministry did not release the list of the worst (Red) category,only 25 cities and towns out of 441 could find place in the Blue and Black categories.The Capitals neighbouring township of Noida could manage the 17th rank while Ahmadabad achieved the 19th place.Haridwar got the 21st rank and Vijaywada 24th in the list.
Releasing the rating,urban development minister S Jaipal Reddy hoped that some cities would reach the top most Green classification soon.Reddy said: The purpose of this exercise is to recognize better performers as well as to encourage other cities to perform better.The idea behind the exercise is to galvanize action in states and cities towards better sanitation.
Top five
Chandigarh
Mysore
Surat
New Delhi Municipal Council area
Delhi Cantt
Chandigarh
Mysore
Surat
New Delhi Municipal Council area
Delhi Cantt
Nearer home
Navi Mumbai stood 11th
Navi Mumbai stood 11th
Trivia
Kanpur,once considered a cess pool,ranked 10th
Kanpur,once considered a cess pool,ranked 10th