Swachh Survekshan : Karnal ranking declines by 30 points

Parveen Arora

Karnal, January 11

Karnal, also known as Chief Minister Manohar lal Khattar’s city, witnessed a sharp decline in its ranking in the Swachh Survekshan 2023, the annual survey of urban sanitation and cleanliness conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

The results of the Swachh Survekshan 2023 were declared on Thursday, which shows the city slipped by 30 points compared to 2022. It got 115th rank among cities in the category above one lakh population, while it secured 85th rank in 2022 among 4,354 cities in the 1-10 lakh population category.

Focus will be on garbage processing

We performed well in all categories except processing. Our focus will now be on garbage processing. We will also get star rating for garbage-free city, which will also contribute in improving our ranking. —Abhishek Meena, Commissioner, KMC

Karnal city was at 86th position in Swachh Survekshan 2021, 17th in 2020, 24th in 2019, 41st in 2018 and 65th in 2017, said the data.

Poor performance in waste processing and no star rating in garbage-free city were the main reasons behind the poor show, said sources in the Karnal Municipal Corporation (KMC).

Karnal performed outstanding in ODF certification category and got water status. It also managed to get 5,736 out of a total of 9,500 points in different categories, which is above the state and national average -2,959 and 3,526, respectively.

The city performed well in door-to-door collection of waste, cleanliness of residential and market areas, cleanliness of water bodies, remediation of dump sites and it got 93 per cent, 95 per cent, 100 per cent and 100 per cent, respectively. The city also got 74 per cent marks for the segregation of waste from the source point, 45 per cent for the processing of waste, and 83 per cent for the cleanliness of public toilets.

However, the citizens also contributed in a positive way by giving feedback, which earned them 1586.71 marks, which is above the state and national average -979.61 and 1122.78, respectively.

In the small civic bodies category, Nilokheri remained at fourth position in the state, Gharaunda secured at eighth position, Assandh at 12th position, Nissing at 15th position, Kaithal at 18th position, Pundri at 20th position, Indri at 23rd position, Cheeka at 29th position, Kalayat at 33rd position, Taraori at 36th position.

Abhishek Meena, Commissioner, KMC, said when the Swachh Survekshan was conducted in July, the solid waste management plant was not fully operational as a new agency was taking over the charge.

“We performed well in all categories except processing. Our focus will be on garbage processing in the coming days. We will also get star rating for garbage-free city, which will also contribute in improving our ranking,” he said.