City slips 5 ranks on Swachh index

Hyderabad’s ranking slipped to 27th place in Swachh Survekshan rankings among 485 cities. Last year its rank was 22 from among 434 cities. Vijayawada stood fifth, Tirupati sixth and Visakhapatnam seventh.

A major setback for the city was its score in citizen feedback and Swachhata App downloads which included feedback from the citizens on criteria like cleanliness and sanitation. However, Hyderabad has been the best capital city in solid waste management during the current year.

Ranking was based on three parameters with a total of 4,000 marks which include service level progress with 1,400 marks, direct observation with 1,200 marks and citizen feedback with 1,400 marks.

Hyderabad’s ranking slipped to 27th place in Swachh Survekshan rankings among 485 cities.

The Swachh Survekshan-2018 ranking of cities, separately done for those with a population of one lakh or more (national ranking) and those below one lakh (state and zonal rankings), was based on assessment of progress from January 2017 to December 2017 (extended till January 2018 for Cantonment Boards only) under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U).

Citizens’ feedback was a major setback for the city during the current rankings. Unlike last year, the Swachh Survekshan rankings included 1,400 marks for citizens’ feedback; Hyderabad got 942.

The survey has also removed Municipal Self Declaration category, where municipalities can declare their city as open defecation free and follow high standards in sanitation.

Taking this parameter into consideration Hyderabad was ranked 22 out of 434 cities and towns across the country. The city was awarded an overall score of 1,605 out of 2,000 based on the marks received in the categories of Citizen Feedback, Municipal Self Declaration and On-Site Observation.

During 2018, Hyderabad secured 3,092 marks out of a total 4,000 and stood 27 when it competed with 385 other cities in India. Hyderabad got 973 marks out of 1,400 service level progress marks, 1,177 out of 1,200 direct observation marks.

However, Hyderabad has been ranked next to Greater Mumbai in the category of metropolitan cities. Hyderabad got a better score in service level progress & Direct Observation compared to Greater Mumbai which includes collection & transportation of waste, sweeping of residential and commercial areas, door to door collection, Processing and disposal of municipal waste, sanitation etc. Hyderabad is ranked next to Greater Mumbai in the category of metropolitan cities.