Bhubaneswar: While people’s feedback is helping to improve ranking in Swachh Survekshan, the temple city dwellers are apprehensive of any better result in 2018 than last year. They have every reason to fear. For, garbage is not being cleared on daily basis which is expected at a time when the first phase of Survekshan is going on in 20 cities. Moreover, the competition is going to be tougher this year as 4,041 cities are participating in the competition as compared to only 434 in 2017.
Keeping the large number of competitors in mind, BMC ought to have shown much more alacrity than it is showing now, the city dwellers said, adding the capital city may, at the most, retain its ranking.
Given the fact that the survey is broadly divided into three components with a total of 4,000 marks — service level progress (35%, 1,400 marks), citizen feedback (35%, 1,400 marks) and direct observation (30%, 1,200 marks) — citizen feedback is going to play a crucial role. Besides, direct observation may be another key point that affects a city’s position as it is the only component which carries negative marking.
A Central team is likely to visit the capital city in the first week of February. Under the direct observation category, the team members would inspect how sanitation work is going on, how garbage segregation at source is being carried out, availability of toilet facilities and how much people are aware of all these things.
Under sanitation, procedures followed in door-to-door collection of garbage, its transportation and disposal will be inspected.
Out of a total 67 wards, BMC looks after sanitation work only in 10 while private companies such as Ramky, Jagruti and PMR carry it out in the rest of the wards.
“To avoid negative marking and negative feedback from people, all the three outsourced companies have been directed to bend over backwards to get maximum marks,” a BMC official said.
But the ground reality is different. Piles of garbage lying for days together, dustbins lying uprooted at several places, rubbish bins overflowing with garbage at some other places are common sights on streets and cause a great deal of discomfiture to the residents. People of old town area rue that at least when Swachh Survekshan is going on, such apathetic official attitude is not expected.
However, a BMC official claimed that garbage clearing is going on on regular basis. And to sensitize people to use specific dustbins, a video van will be pressed into service soon. The van will remain stationed at strategic places like educational institutions, slums, government and corporate offices and inform people about how to download Swachhata App and give feedback on different parameters such as road condition, public and community toilets, collection and disposal of solid waste and installation of dustbins.
Another area that may likely get BMC poor marking is segregation under which scientific land filling, composting plant and how non- bio degradable articles are being treated in specific plants are taken into consideration.
Country’s No 1 smart city Bhubaneswar emerged as the fastest moving city in the east zone with a population of over 10 lakh in the Swachh Survekshan-2017 and Rourkela was adjudged as the fastest moving city in the east zone with a population of 2-10 lakh.
While Bhubaneswar was placed at the 94th spot in the survey, Rourkela got the 168th place. Among other towns of Orissa, Berhampur, Balasore, Puri, Cuttack, Baripada, Sambalpur and Bhadrak were at 187th, 190, 194, 204, 261, 322 and 349th position respectively.
PNN
