The Swachh Survekshan 2023 results announced on Thursday laid bare Mumbai’s struggle with cleanliness as its ranking dropped from 31st to 37th in the survey.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which recently launched a ‘deep cleaning drive,’ has voiced its commitment to enhanced improvement and promised the financial capital’s comeback in the next survey.
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Despite Mumbai’s decline, its neighbouring satellite city, Navi Mumbai, maintains a stronghold, securing the third position for the second consecutive year in Swachh Survekshan 2023. Meanwhile, Indore and Surat jointly secured the top rank – the seventh consecutive win for Indore and a first for Surat.
Mumbai, with an estimated population of around 12 million, secured the 37th rank among million-plus cities, down from 31 in the last survey. Pune claims the 10th position at the all-India level.
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“We have undertaken extensive efforts to improve cleanliness, and hence, next year we anticipate much better performance,” said Sudhakar Shinde, additional municipal commissioner.
On the other hand, Thane bagged the 14th position, down from the 13th spot in 2022, while Kalyan-Dombivli secured the 22nd position, an improvement from 24th in the last survey. Mumbai’s detailed report card revealed a score of 4446.19 out of 7,500, ranking it 189th nationally out of 446 cities across different population categories.
Since last month, BMC has initiated a deep cleaning drive, a brainchild of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. This initiative involves the collection of debris and garbage every weekend in specific areas. Shinde personally monitors the progress every week.
The list of the top 10 cleanest cities with a population of more than one lakh includes Navi Mumbai, Greater Visakhapatnam, Bhopal, Vijayawada, New Delhi, Tirupati, Greater Hyderabad, and Pune. According to the survey results, Maharashtra’s Sasvad received the cleanest city award among 3,970 cities with a population of less than one lakh.
Three cities in West Bengal—Madhyamgram (444th rank), Kalyani (445th rank), and Haora (446th rank)—occupy the bottom rankings. In the ‘best-performing states’ category, Maharashtra is named the cleanest in the country, followed by Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. In the last annual survey, Madhya Pradesh secured the title for the cleanest state.
