Blame-game as Hyderabad fails to get 5-star rating, yet again

HYDERABAD: Due to poor sanitation, the city managed to get only a three-star rating in the Swachh Sarvekshan rankings on Saturday. A GHMC official claimed that while senior officers were sure of achieving the coveted five-star rating, their juniors ensured a flop show with poor maintenance of sanitation.

In cities with more than 10 lakh population, 47 cities participated and the GHMC was ranked at 10 rank. The city jumped three ranks from last year's rankings.

In the above 1 lakh category, competing with 342 urban local bodies (ULBs), the city secured 26 rank, one above last year. In the above 40 lakh population category, Hyderabad competed with nine cities and retained its fifth position. It scored 5,612.68 marks out of 7,500.

According to highly placed sources, GHMC officials allegedly misguided those from the Centre and showed them around prime areas. Sources said corporation officials even deployed their staff to give positive feedback and ensured that very few citizens interacted with the ministry representatives.

However, the city retained its water plus certification. If a city is certified open defecation free (ODF)++, it will automatically get the water plus certification.  The ODF ensures 100 per cent accessibility of toilet facilities to everyone. ODF+ proper maintenance of toilets by ensuring basic facilities like water and cleanliness by connecting to sewer networks. ODF++ ensures solid and liquid waste management (STPs) and visually clean toilets.

The Centre took nine indicators into consideration after conducting surveys in Hyderabad district with a population of 67,31,790 after conducting field inspections for the water plus city category.

A top GHMC official, requesting anonymity, told Deccan Chronicle that the city's sanitation had deteroirated. He admitted that the delay in collecting door to door garbage, poor maintenance of public toilets and delay in collecting roadside garbage, which was dumped at the same spots where dumping bins were placed earlier.

The official said that the city sanitation improvement in Hyderabad will secure rank in the top ten cities competing with ULBs across the country. On the 4,000 missing public toilets, the official refused to comment.