Swachh Survekshan: Navi Mumbai slips a rank but cleanest in Maharashtra

Meanwhile, consistently for the second year, Thane city achieved the 14th position nationally and the third position in Maharashtra in Swachh Survekshan

Navi Mumbai, which stood third in last year’s Swachh Survekshan survey, has slipped to fourth place this year. However, it continues to top in Maharashtra as the cleanest city and has also topped in the country in the `Cleanest Big City’ category of 10-40 lakh population.

This news has come as a disappointment for Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), as they targeted the top rank among the 4,320 participating cities in the Swachh Survekshan. (HT FILE)

This news has come as a disappointment for Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), as they targeted the top rank amongst the 4,320 participating cities.

NMMC commissioner, Abhijit Bangar, said, “The Navi Mumbai residents deserve this. Residents have actively participated in all the civic endeavours that included beautification, novel wall paintings and awareness messages in public areas.”

Commenting on the ranking, Bhupendra Shah, chairman Trustee Board, Builders Association of Navi Mumbai, said, “What really matters is that the city has topped in the country in the specified population category. This means that necessary action has been taken for this population. We will go beyond the other cities in the next few years as the fundamentals in Navi Mumbai are very strong.”

BN Kumar, director, NatConnect Foundation, however, is unhappy with the slip. “The cleanliness in the city was and is limited only to highways and main roads such as Palm Beach Road. The lanes, bylanes have miles to go. The idea of dustbin free city was badly executed. People continue to dump garbage in the erstwhile bin areas. Segregation of waste has also not picked up.”

Thane 14th in Swachh ranking

Consistently for the second year, Thane city achieved the 14th position nationally and the third position in Maharashtra in the survey in the cities with more than 10 lakh population category. TMC initiated various campaigns on waste collection and transportation process, regular cleanliness, public awareness and capacity building to hold its position.