Haryana ranks low, but residents feel state cleaner than before

ROHTAK: Haryana may have ranked low in the Swachh Survekshan survey with only two cities making it to the top 100, but over 89% residents of the state who took part in the survey feel their surroundings have become cleaner than before.

The rankings of 434 cities under Swachh Survekshan 2017 were released by the government on Thursday. MP’s Indore had emerged to be the cleanest while UP’s Gonda was ranked the dirtiest city of the country. In Haryana, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s constituency Karnal topped the state by securing the 65th rank. Five cities— Bhiwani, Bahadurgarh, Yamunanagar, Palwal and Panipat—of the state were at the bottom 100 of the list.

The cleanliness survey, which took place in January and February this year, evaluated the cities on five parameters—waste collection, solid-waste management, construction of toilets, sanitation strategies and behaviour change communication.

The rankings were based on data provided by municipal corporations, independent assessors and feedback collected from residents. In all, 37 lakh citizens participated in the survey. From Haryana, 91,097 people took the survey, out of which 89.82% said they found their surroundings cleaner than last year.

Around 80% people also submitted that the availability of toilets and dustbins has gone up in the state.

The state, however, performed poor in solid waste management and on-site observation of commercial areas. Only two of the 18 Haryana cities surveyed were found to be open defecation-free, while public toilets surveyed were not gender, child and disabled friendly.

In the neighbouring state Punjab too, a majority of the people (69% of the 33,079) who took the survey said their surroundings were cleaner than before.

AROUND 80% PEOPLE ALSO SUBMITTED THAT THE AVAILABILITY OF TOILETS AND DUSTBINS HAS GONE UP IN THE STATE