Mysore ‘cleanest city’ in India

Another city from Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram has come eighth while Halisahar from West Bengal and Gangtok from Sikkim have secured the ninth and tenth spot. Bengaluru leads the list of capitals at 7th rank while Patna came at the bottom at 429.

Thiruchirapalli is ranked second in Swwachh Bharatranking of 476 cities after Mysore that won the first rank, according to Union Ministry of Urban Development.

Interestingly enough, 15 of the 27 state capital cities are part of the top 100 cities in the cleanliness, minimal open defecation and sanitation practices prevalent in the country.

The survey covered 31 States and Union Territories with a population of above 1 lakh and they were judged in the framework of whether the local municipalities were reducing open defecation and effectively handling solid waste management, septage management, waste water treatment, drinking water quality, surface water quality of water bodies and mortality due to water-borne diseases, the ministry said.

In Andhra Pradesh, 30 cities were surveyed.

Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is frequently visiting the two important cities – Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam – in the state which have been put at the 266th and 205th place, respectively, in the Swachh Bharat rankings, APCC spokesperson Kolanukonda Shivaji said.

Launched in October 2014 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Swachh Bharat Mission is the flagship sanitation programme of the NDA government, which aims to bridge gaps between sewerage and solid waste management and construct several million toilets in the urban centres.

Bhind, Neemuch in Madhya Pradesh, Palwal, Rewari, Bhiwani in Haryana, Chittaurgarh & Hindaun in Rajasthan and Bulandshahar in Uttar Pradesh figure in the list of ten filthiest cities across the country.

The Ministry said it will also announce, later, the over-all sanitation rankings of all cities based on a total of 100 marks assigned to different parameters covering all aspects.

Among the bottom 100 cities, 74 are from the North, 21 from the East, 3 from the West and 2 from the South.