Karnal cleanest city in state

Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, May 4

The city has secured the 65th rank in the Swachh Survekshan 2017 (Swachh Bharat survey 2017) that was conducted in 434 cities and towns of the country in January and February. It was ranked 123rd in 2014. It is also the cleanest city in Haryana. The position shows good solid waste management practices and improved sanitation habits of the city residents.

Besides, the city has got a special award for being the cleanest city in north India under the category of population 2 lakh to 10 lakh by adopting several measures. These steps include installation of CCTV cameras at the solid waste management plant to assess adequate waste disposal, functional e-toilets, intensive awareness programmes conducted at schools, colonies and government offices, and involving community leaders, social and religious bodies in spreading the message of cleanliness.

Union Minister for Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu felicitated Mayor Renu Bala Gupta and Municipal Commissioner Dr Aditya Dahiya in Delhi today for their commendable work in achieving this rank. He appreciated their efforts for the improvement in the rank.

The Quality Council of India and the Ministry of Urban Development jointly carried out the survey. The technique involved giving cities a score out of 2,000 marks based on 900 marks for Municipal Corporation activities and documentation, 600 for citizens’ feedback and 500 marks for the field survey by independent observers, said the Mayor.

Karnal with 1,348 marks has secured the 65th rank in the country and remained first in Haryana. The second cleanest city in the state is Faridabad that is ranked 88th, followed by Gurugram at 112, Panchkula 211, Sonepat 243, Thanesar 253, Jind 265, Sirsa 274, Kaithal 282, Hisar 291, Rohtak 295, Rewari 303, Ambala Sadar 308, Panipat 335, Bhiwani 345, Yamunanagar 346, Bahadurgarh 353 and Palwal achieved the 397th place.

Dahiya said the city would try to achieve higher level of sanitation in the Swachh Survekshan 2018 by introducing 100 per cent source segregation of biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste and effective functioning of the solid waste management plant at Shekhpura, which is functional since March 2017.