Swachh Survekshan: After Mahakumbh work, Praygaraj civic authorities hope for better ranking
Efforts have begun to undertake a major sanitation and cleanliness exercise across the city, civic officials said
A central government team is expected to visit Prayagraj soon for the Swachh Survekshan — an annual survey of cleanliness, hygiene and sanitation — conducted by the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA) as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
Efforts have begun to undertake a major sanitation and cleanliness exercise across the city, civic officials said.
The Prayagraj Municipal Corporation (PMC) has begun cleanliness of roads, ghats and public toilets as part of this effort. The waste treatment plant in Baswar and the MRFs, or Material Recovery Facilities of the city, are also being spruced up in looks as well as functioning, they said.
Officials conceded that the team of the Swachh Survey of the central government can come to Prayagraj any day now.
In the Swachh Survey of 2023, the ghats of Prayagraj had bagged second place in the country after Varanasi, but the city had secured a rank of just 71 in the country in urban cleanliness. In 2022, Prayagraj was at the 16th position nationally.
The fall of 55 places in cleanliness ranking in just a year had created quite a stir in the PMC with senior officials taking the slip very seriously.
For the poor show in the 2023 survey, many reasons were cited. The main reason behind the fall in ranking, according to them, were the failure of the campaign to separate wet and dry waste, Baswar waste treatment plant not working properly, heaps of garbage found on the roads despite door-to-door collection, as well as no fines being imposed for littering public places.
PMC officials claim that the shortcomings of the last time have been rectified this time. The cleanliness of the city was praised everywhere during the Mahakumbh and its benefit will be reflected in the latest Swachh Survey, they claim.
PMC’s zonal officer, Sanjay Mamgai, said that there has been an overall improvement in the cleanliness of the city this time. This will boost the ranking of Prayagraj in the latest survey, he added.
