BMC officials to visit Indore to take tips on cleanliness and waste management, after city's ranking in National Swachh Survekshan drops

The BMC headquarters. File pic

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has organized a study tour for its officers to Indore city to take tips on cleanliness and waste management. Indore has secured the first rank in an all-India cleanliness survey recently for the seventh time this year.

The BMC wants its officers and personnel from its solid waste management (SWM) department to visit and city and take tips to improve the cleanliness and waste management in Mumbai. The study tour will be organised in February or March.

In the nationwide Swachh Survekshan 2023, results of which were declared early this month, Mumbai's rank slipped to 37 from 31 in 2022, while Indore continued to maintain its first position.

In press release issued on Tuesday, the country's richest civic body said junior supervisors and engineers from the SWM department will participate in the two-day study tour to be organised in February or March.

During the tour, SWM department personnel and officers will gather information on 100 per cent door-to-door waste collection, wet-dry garbage classification and their proper disposal and public sanitation, among other issues, the release said.

According to the BMC, the visit will also focus on daily waste collection, waste handling, challenges of segregation, treatment projects, role of sanitation workers, safety in garbage handling, community participation and other important aspects of Indore's successful waste management system.

An average of 6,300 metric tonnes of waste is disposed at Kanjurmarg and Deonar dumping grounds in Mumbai city. Additionally, 750 metric tonnes to 800 metric tonnes of debris is disposed at the Deonar dumping site. The Mumbai civic body collects and segregates solid waste at its 949 centres and 47 dry waste sorting sites.

Mumbai faced challenges in the last survey, particularly in source segregation of garbage (65%) and waste generation versus processing (49%). The city scored the lowest in the remediation of dumpsites, receiving only 9%.

Following its subpar performance in the National Swachh Survekshan 2023, Mumbai civic are under scrutiny from Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Shinde has urged the corporation to excel in it solid waste management and cleanliness across the city.

To secure a position in top 10 clean cities in India, BMC now will take tips from Indore.