Context: This editorial is based on the news “Numbers game: On the Swachh Survekshan awards” which was published in The hindu. Recently, the Centre has announced the Swachh Survekshan Awards for the eighth year running.
| Relevancy for Prelims: Swachh Survekshan Awards, Criteria for Cleanliness, Survey Categories, Policy Intervention.
Relevancy for Mains: Urban Governance and Development, Sustainable Sanitation Policies, Public Health and Hygiene, Local Governance and Participation, Social and Economic Disparities & Environmental Impact, Role of Data in Governance |
Swachh Survekshan Dominance: Indore, Surat Lead Cleanliness Index
Indore and Surat: India’s Cleanest Cities, A Seven-Year Legacy
- Indore and Surat. Both cities were tied at the top place among cities with a population over 1 lakh.
- Indore has been adjudged India’s cleanest city for the seventh year in a row.
- Both cities had 100% door-to-door collection of waste, 98% segregation at source and 100% remediation of dumpsites.
- Bhopal, Indore, Surat and Visakhapatnam have entrenched themselves over the years.
- There is a certain volatility beyond the top 10 cities but the top cities are consistent, which is a degree of stagnation.
Swachh Survekshan Awards: Diverse Categories, Local Excellences & Sanitation Challenges
Twists of the Survey: Diverse Awardees, Motivating Local Excellence
- Multiple Categories: It creates multiple sub-categories on the basis of population.
- Reason: Many more cities have a chance at top-scoring in some category or the other.
- Awarded Regions:
- Mhow in Madhya Pradesh has been awarded as the cleanest ‘cantonment’ town.
- Varanasi and Prayagraj are winners of the ‘Cleanest Ganga town’.
- Chandigarh is the cleanest ‘Best Safari Mitra Surakshit Sheher’ (Cities safest for sanitation workers).
- The underlying principle of several Ranking Schemes: To motivate cities, villages, schools to pull themselves up on their own mettle.
On Sanitation: Impact of History, Economics, and Power Dynamics
- Factors of the Sanitation: Public sanitation of the city is heavily influenced by the history, economic conditions and proximity to power.
- Few cities at the top means that there is less attention paid to the factors that hinder a general improvement in sanitation.
Way Forward: Retiring Leaders, Addressing Challenges, Government Intervention in Civic Sanitation
- Better Updation: To make future editions of the survey work as a useful barometer of progress is to acknowledge that consistent toppers have already put in place a well-developed system and having done so, retire them from future rankings for a few years.
- It will focus and highlight challenges that hamper other cities.
- Intervention by the Government: For civic sanitation to remain a sustainable movement, it is high time that the government intervenes and prevents it from being a numbers game.
Conclusion
- Swachh Survekshan Awards showcasing Indore and Surat as consistent leaders in cleanliness. However, concerns of stagnation and the need for a dynamic approach are evident. Recalibration in future surveys, retiring top performers temporarily, focusing on challenges, and necessitating proactive government intervention for a sustainable civic sanitation movement.
January 13, 2024
