MillenniumPost
Delhi

2019: Gurugram struggling to improve cleanliness ranking

Gurugram: One of the first challenges for Gurugram administration will be to improve its cleanliness ranking among other cities. The Millennium city has marginally improved its ranking from 112 positions to securing the 107th position in the cleanliness survey conducted by the Government of India this year. Scepticism however still persists among residents of the city, who feel the city is still not clean and have not been able to find an effective solution to the garbage problem that continues to raise the stench. Various areas around the city that includes Subash Nagar, Gurugram railway station, Sikanderpur, Nathupur, Sector-17 still faces the problem of massive piles of garbage being strewn in the open areas. Moreover, the mounds of garbage at Bandhwari landfill site also continue to be piling each day with 1000 tonnes of garbage from Gurugrm and Faridabad being dumped daily.

There have also been reports that now waste is also being dumped around other green areas of Aravallis, even as the government has announced the waste to energy plants in the 30-acre landfill site. The project is yet to kick off while there are protests by the residents regarding the ambitious move. There is a construction and demolition plant at Basai yet a lot of C&D is being thrown in the open areas.

In 2018 the state government declared Gurugram as one of the few cities of India that is open defecation free. While the state agencies are actively promoting it as a major achievement in a city of 20 lakh people, most of the residents do not seem to be impressed by the claim. Ever since the announcement has been made, residents have taken to social media and have been lambasting the state agencies of not knowing the ground situation. While there have been large numbers of portable toilets that have been built, it has not proved to be enough for the high number of the migrant population present in the city.

Beyond the ranking, maintaining the cleanliness is a big challenge. Not only is the garbage not being collected but it is also not being recycled and the waste from Gurugram and Faridabad is only adding to the mounds of garbage being piled up at Bandhwari. Besides getting the fee of collection from the residents, the Eco Green company is also being paid by the MCG.

With the challenge of waste management still prevalent in the city, the MCG sounded optimistic that steps are being taken to ensure citizens effectively segregate waste generated in their homes, while not many seem to be impressed by MCG's claims.

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