MCG hosts workshop to improve cleanliness ranking ahead of survey

The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) organised a special orientation workshop on Tuesday as part of its effort to elevate the city’s cleanliness standards, officials said. 

According to MCG officials, this initiative is part of their effort to improve its ranking in the Swachh Survekshan 2024 survey, which survey will allocate 9,500 points across three major categories. The survey will have 5,705 points for service-level progress, 2,500 points for certification, and 1,295 points for public engagement. In 2023, Gurgaon ranked 140 out of 446 cities, the city’s worst ever show in Swachh Survekshan since the nationwide survey was launched in 2016.

Released by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on January 16, 2023, the report ranked cities based on their populations, both above and below 100,000. In the category for cities with populations exceeding 100,000, Gurgaon was ranked 140th.

The MCG has outlined a plan that includes continuous cleaning and waste collection in all areas, with special emphasis on educating the public on proper waste disposal practices. Key initiatives also include zero-waste events, source segregation of waste, and a “Swachh Ward” competition designed to encourage ward-level cleanliness. 

In response, MCG commissioner Narhari Singh Bangar said that they have deployed additional teams to ensure the city is clean in order to improve their ranking in the survey. “The streets are cleared every day, and the waste is dumped at secondary points. We are also keeping a check on landfills so that fire incidents are not reported regularly. Our teams are penalising violators for illegal dumping of waste in the open.”

Meanwhile, at Tuesday’s event, experts from ICUC Consultant Pvt Ltd led the session, educating municipal officers and sanitation workers on the survey’s criteria and the critical role of public engagement in maintaining cleanliness, MCG officials added. In the workshop, Dr Rakesh Bhatt, an expert from ICUC, outlined how his team will assist the MCG in technical aspects such as data management, field documentation, and public awareness campaigns. 

Bhatt highlighted a more people-centric approach to this year’s cleanliness drive. “We aim to make this a people’s movement, with activities like the Water Plus Initiative, Waste-to-Wealth programs, and the Swachh Innovative Challenge to engage the public,” he added. 

Bhatt further explained that ICUC will assist MCG in organising public participation initiatives, including water conservation programs and interpersonal communication campaigns aimed at spreading awareness about hygiene and cleanliness. 

Separately, at the workshop, MCG’s senior sanitation inspectors, along with their teams, were instructed to ensure the cleanliness of previously garbage-prone areas, which are now being referred to as “Cleanliness Target Units” (CTUs). The officials were further tasked with implementing preventive measures to stop further waste dumping in these areas and ensure regular monitoring.