Tiruchi Corporation has been relegated to the 13th position in the national-level Swachh Survekshan ranking 2018 (clean city ranking).
It had notched the 6th position in the Swachh Survekshan ranking 2017. This is the first time Tiruchi has been pushed out of the top ten cleanest cities in the country since the ranking was introduced in 2015. The city had stood 2nd and 3rd in 2015 and 2016 respectively. However, it has secured first rank among 26 cities in the State with one lakh population and above, followed by Coimbatore.
According to the data released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on Saturday, out of 4,000 marks, Tiruchi secured 3,351.61 marks, which is 356 marks less than Indore, which has been ranked first in 2018 ranking.
An analysis of the rankings revealed that Tiruchi scored well in direct observation and citizen feedback categories. But, it fell way short under the head of ‘service level progress’ (solid waste management and infrastructure). The lower than expected score in the category is considered to be the main factor that pushed the city out of the top ten ranks.
Out of 1,200 marks allotted for direct observation (by the survey team), the city managed to score 1,140.75, which is well above the national and State average.
But this year, the city scored a whopping 1249.94 out of the total 1,400 marks under the head of citizen feedback, making up for the poor show in this aspect in the past. Officials pointed out that a poor score in citizen feedback had prevented the city from notching up the first rank in the 2017 survey.
However, the city could manage only a modest 961 marks out of 1400 under ‘service level progress,’ though the score is still far above the national and State average. Interestingly, Coimbatore city, which has secured 16th rank, scored 1,219 on this aspect.
The Swachh Survey results have come as a surprise to the Tiruchi Corporation officials, who had high hopes that the city would move up at least one or two places in the national ranking this year.
They wondered how the city could fare badly in service-level progress when it had secured good marks in citizen feedback and direct observation. All these three heads are closely linked to each other, they point out. The city had scored well on this count in 2017.
To recheck
Reacting to the results, Corporation Commissioner N. Ravichandran told The Hindu that error in assessment by survey members could be the reason for the city scoring poor marks under the head of service level progress.
The infrastructure and services of the corporation had been well documented and was physically verified by the survey team. Hence, the Corporation would take up the issue with Swachh Bharat Mission officials in New Delhi, requesting them to recheck the city score under this category.