Swachh Bharat: 75 major cities to be rated for cleanliness

New Delhi, Oct 30: The Centre will conduct a survey of 75 cities in the country, especially those with a population over 10 lakh, to ascertain the sanitation scenario and subsequently rate them.

The survey, commissioned by the Urban Development Ministry, is the first such since Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Swachh Bharat Mission in October last year and aligns with the objectives of the Mission.

Apart from New Delhi and state capitals, Ahmedabad, Varanasi, Pune, Visakhapatnam, Gurgaon, Kochi, Nagpur, Amritsar, Allahabad are among the 75 cities, which account for over 50 per cent of country's total urban population, to be rated for its cleanliness.

The survey parameters have been aligned with the objectives of Swachh Bharat Mission with more focus on solid waste management which is adversely impacting cleanliness in urban areas, as per the directions of Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu.

The proposed survey and subsequent ratings, to be completed in January next year, is aimed at fostering a spirit of competition among the cities to ensure sanitation in urban areas, said a senior UD Ministry official.

In the proposed survey, solid waste management is being given 60 per cent weightage followed by 15 per cent each for availability and use of individual household toilets and public and community toilets besides 5 per cent each for city level sanitation plans and Information, Education and Behaviour Change Communication (IEBC) activities.

Under Swachh Bharat Mission, about Rs 37,000 crore of the project cost of Rs 62,009 cr is to be incurred on solid waste management.

In the last survey, for ranking 476 cities with a population of over one lakh each which was commissioned before the launch of Swachh Bharat Mission, solid waste management had a weightage of only 13 per cent.

Swachh Bharat Mission is aimed at ensuring door-to-door collection, transportation and scientific disposal of solid waste in all the 83,000 wards in urban areas by 2019 besides construction of one crore individual household toilets and over five lakh public and community toilets.

PTI