Bengaluru, the capital city of Karnataka, once known as India’s garden city witnessed a sharp decline in its ranking among the cleanest cities in the country. The city has dropped from the 28th spot in 2021 to the 43rd spot this year, according to the Swachh Survekshan 2022 list that was released on Sunday.
A total of 45 cities with a population of over 10 lakh were surveyed.
However, on the other hand, three cities from the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh – Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati, found a place in the top 10 rankings.
While Indore in Madhya Pradesh topped the list for the sixth consecutive year, Surat, Navi Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, and Tirupathi occupied the top ranks. In Karnataka, Mysore has ranked eighth on the list. Among all the states, Madhya Pradesh was the cleanest in the country.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has reportedly received more than five lakh responses from residents for the survey.
Harish Kumar, Commissioner of the Solid Waste Management Department of BBMP said that one of the reasons why Bengaluru fared better in 2021 was because the survey was done based on the feedback of 10,000 people. But this year, over 5 lakh citizens were surveyed under the citizen ‘voice’ parameter, according to The New Indian Express.
Telangana has grabbed the first position among large states, (population of over 30 lakh), followed by Haryana in the second and Tamil Nadu in the third position.
While Andaman and Nicobar topped the list of small states/Union Territories (population less than 30 Lakh), Daman and Diu & Dada, Nagar Haveli and Sikkim secured the second and third places.
Among the top three districts of India, Bhiwani (Haryana) has secured the first position, followed by Jagtial (Telangana) and Nizamabad (Telangana) respectively.
The Swachh Survekshan Gramin2022 award by the Jal Shakti Ministry rates states and cities based on their performance gained on key quantitative and qualitative Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin (SBM-G) parameters and engagement of the rural community in the improvement of their sanitation status.
The awards were announced on 2 October to commemorate the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
