The provisional State capital Dehradun has been ranked 316 out of 434 Indian cities for the level of sanitation. At 218, Roorkee is the best ranked of cities in Uttarakhand while at 330 Nainital was ranked the lowest for its level of sanitation. These were among the findings of the Swachchh Sarvekshan 2017 conducted across the nation.
The Swachchh Sarvekshan 2017 commissioned by the Ministry of Urban Development during January-February 2017 included six towns in the State of Uttarakhand. Out of 434 cities checked in the survey, the towns of Uttarakhand fared poorly with none making it even to the top 200 cities.
Roorkee was ranked 218, Haridwar 244, Kashipur 256, Dehradun 316, Nainital 330 and Haldwani-Kathgodam 395. According to officials, the national survey this year was aimed at capturing the improvement in sanitation scenario, primarily based on making cities and towns Open Defecation Free (ODF) and improvement in processing of municipal solid waste. Accordingly, it is outcome oriented. Criteria and weightages for different components of sanitation related aspects used for the survey included solid waste management including door-to-door collection, processing and disposal;
ODF status, citizen feedback and independent observation. The Quality Council of India which conducted the survey deployed 421 assessors for on the spot assessment of 17,500 locations in 434 cities and towns. It is pertinent to mention here that among the towns of Uttarakhand, Dehradun has continued to struggle with civic sanitation issues.
In a national survey involving 73 Indian cities in 2016, Dehradun was ranked 61 for its level of sanitation. Dehradun had been categorised among ‘slow movers’ in the survey during the previous year.
The ranking achieved this year doesn’t present a picture of substantial improvement in level of civic sanitation.