05 May,2017 08:29 AM IST | Mumbai | Laxman Singh
Oh, how the mighty have fallen! Just last year, the city was featured as the 10th cleanest city in the nation, but in an abysmal fall from grace, Mumbai has fallen to 29 in the index
Ironically, despite BMC's efforts, open defecation is still rife in the city due to a shortage of toilets. FILE PIC FOR
Oh, how the mighty have fallen! Just last year, the city was featured as the 10th cleanest city in the nation, but in an abysmal fall from grace, Mumbai has fallen to 29 in the index.
And the blame for it can squarely be placed with the BMC for its inability to find a solution to the issue of waste management, and its over-enthusiastic approach in declaring the city open-defecation free (ODF) without any infrastructure in place to actually support it.
Venkaiah Naidu, minister for urban development, announced the Swachh Bharat Survey results for 2017 - wherein over 500 cities and their municipalities were surveyed - yesterday.
"Not much has been done to improve the availability of public toilets in the city. The certification team surveyed the city and found several spots where people were still defecating in the open," said a state official.
mid-day was the first to report that the BMC's efforts to impress the Centre had failed and that the rankings would be affected.
The BMC, however, clarified that there has been no dip in their performance, as it has secured 1,535 marks as compared to 1,534 last year.
