The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation saw its rating coming down to a single star from two stars in the ‘Star Ratings of Garbage Free Cities’ (GFC) 2020.
The results were announced by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) on May 19. The drop in rating is likely to impact the Swacch Survekshan Rankings 2020 later this year.
The Star Rating of GFC initiative was launched to enable cities to gradually evolve into model cities, with progressive improvements in their overall cleanliness. The rating conditions are based on a number of key parameters like doorstep garbage collection, segregation at source and sweeping of public, commercial and residential areas among others. Compliance will be verified by an independent third party appointed by the MoHUA after self-assessment by the Urban Local Body (ULB). This year, the GVMC has applied for a five-star rating in the GFC rating.
According to GVMC Commissioner G Srijana, the unfinished waste-to-energy plant, processing of construction and demolition waste and a few other factors might have impacted the rating.
The civic body is now all set to write to the officials to learn what were the factors that led to such a poor rating.
“We have already recognised several indicators. However, we would still ask for course correction for the next year,” Ms. Srijana said.
It may be recalled that among 1,435 cities which have applied for rating, a total of 141 cities were rated — six of them 5-star, 65 of three-star, and 70 one-star. In Andhra Pradesh, Tirupati and Vijayawada have been rated three-star cities.