Bengaluru: Officer transferred, Swachh ranking may take a hit again

Bengaluru: Bengaluru’s Swachh Survekshan rating, which has taken a beating over the years, is likely to slip further with the transfer of solid waste management joint commissioner Randeep.

This is not the first time that upright officers posted in the Solid Waste Management department, who were trying to weed out corruption in the system, have been transferred. It had been just six months since Mr Randeep took charge from Mr Subhodh Yadav, another upright officer who is now posted at Kalburgi. Mr Randeep has been shunted to the Social Welfare Department.

Solid waste management expert Ramakanth said, “Mr Randeeps’ transfer will reflect in the Swachh rankings. Bengaluru secured 216th and 210th ranks in the surveys in the last two years. From this year, cities will not be ranked, but will be given stars. Mr Randeep, who was a Mysuru deputy commissioner, had a great reputation for solid waste management work there. Since he joined the BBMP, he started learning things from the root. He had marathon meetings with SWM experts and NGOs to know the issues. He had learnt a lot, started eliminating the problems and had taken significant steps to get better Swachh rankings.”

He said that Mr Randeep, unlike other officers, got in touch with the grassroots workers and monitored progress every day. “Maybe his next step to go for fresh tenders in garbage collection would have irked contractors, who would have pressured the government to remove him,” he added.

The next officer, who will take charge, will have to learn from the start and by the time he implements the solutions, it will be late for Swachh rankings, he said.

Citizens and resident welfare associations have started an online campaign on change.org demanding Mr Randeep’s reinstatement. The campaign has already received over 500 signatures.