S Delhi jumps from 202 to 32 in Swachh ranks

NEW DELHI: South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has improved significantly in a nationwide cleanliness survey while New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has been adjudged India’s cleanest small city, according to a report released by the Union housing and urban affairs ministry on Saturday.

SDMC’S ranking in Swachh Survekshan-2018 rose to 32 from last year’s position of 202. Delhi Cantonment Board, which was ranked for the first time, took the top spot in the ‘Cantt’ category .

“From providing free access to the toilets in hotels and restaurants to constructing 164 community toilets, 34 public toilets, mechanising collection and transportation of the garbage and using dry leaves for composting in 6,820 parks, various steps were taken to improve the civic services in south Delhi,” SDMC commissioner Puneet Goel said.

He said short-term targets were set by members of the corporation, and weekly review meetings were organised to accelerate the pace of work.

Among 4,203 urban local bodies that were ranked in the survey, NDMC stood fourth, moving up three slots from its previous ranking. About 1.5% of Delhi’s 16.78 million residents live in the council limits that cover 2.2% of the Capital’s area.

The urban local bodies were surveyed between January and March and ranked under different categories based on their population.

All the cantonment boards, which are run by the Indian Army, were also included in the survey.

While North Delhi Municipal Corporation improved its last year’s position of 279 to 206, East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) slipped from 196 to 341 in the rankings, the survey showed. How SDMC got its act together

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