Delhi: North MCD ropes in private consultant to improve Swachh ranking

In the 2021 Swachh Survekshan list, North MCD ranked 45 among the 48 local bodies in the country with over one million population

After consistently faring among the poorest performers in the country in the annual Swachh Survekshan rankings, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation has decided to hire private consultants to improve its performance in 2022, for which the annual survey is expected to be carried out in January-February.

Among Delhi’s local bodies, the North MCD was assessed to be the worst performing corporation in the last sanitation survey. (Picture for representation only/PTI)

In the 2021 Swachh Survekshan list, North MCD ranked 45 among the 48 local bodies in the country with over one million population.

A senior North MCD official overseeing the preparations for the next survey said that an urban environment management company, ICUC, is helping the civic body to carry out environment assessment, identify focus areas and help in training supervisory staff to help improve the performance under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). “The initial engagement of the company will be around six months, during which the next round of Survekshan and ODF (open defecation free) plus survey is to be carried out. They are helping us to identify our weak areas... WhatsApp groups have been set up to coordinate the activities of the department of environment managementservice (DEMS) with the consultant,” the official remarked.

The North MCD comprises of six zones -- Rohini, Civil Lines, Keshavpuram, City-Sadar Paharganj, Narela and Karol Bagh.

According to the report on the action plan, the immediate focus areas identified by the corporation include bulk waste generators, GPS in waste-lifting vehicles, anti-single-use plastic drives, waste reuse initiatives and weekly reporting of works carried out at ward level.

Standing committee chairman Jogi Ram Jain said that north corporation will initiate focused drives to improve performance in the next edition of survey, adding that changes are being made at the zonal level with the help of concessionaires.

Among Delhi’s local bodies, the North MCD was assessed to be the worst performing corporation in the last survey.

The North MCD covers the highest geographical area (604.5 sq km) and has a population of over 6.25 million people, as per 2011 Census. The corporation oversees sanitation work in 25 rural villages, 114 urban villages, 524 authorised colonies, 108 unauthorised-regularised colonies, 25 resettlement colonies and 419 unauthorised colonies. The civic body ranked 43 in the 2020 national survey.

The Union urban affairs ministry’s cleanliness survey was carried out in January and March last year, and the performances judged on parameters such as the segregation and collection of waste, processing and disposal of garbage, sustainable sanitation, citizen’s feedback and innovation.