Time to rise on the cleanliness ranking, Mumbai!

Representative Image

Mumbai's ranking slipped to 37 from 31 in the Swachh Survekshan 2023 results. The 37th ranking was in the million-plus (population-wise) cities category, as the city's population is estimated at over 12 million.

Our neighbouring satellite city of Navi Mumbai, held on to its third position, of last year. Thane, ranked 14 down from 13 last year, while Kalyan Dombivli rose to 22 from 24 last year. In the cleanest cities, it was a first-ever for Surat. Indore, which had conquered the top spot alone for six consecutive years, continued its streak.

It is now upon us to see that Mumbai clambers back six places, to reclaim its former spot. This means we have a stake in making this happen.

Do not say this is not our responsibility. Immediate surroundings should be kept clean. Our building society committees can be made to take onus of the area in the premises. We do our bit as individuals by not littering. Use social media to call out a filthy state of public infra near you, so that officials can take action. Learn to segregate wet and dry waste so that it makes it easier for one to practise segregation.

Learn about Indore, even exchanging views of those living there to see if they are doing something different for their impressive seven times winner scores. A lot of Mumbaikars travel to Surat regularly. Take note of any new clean campaigns, talk to citizens, learn about their mindset and see if we can emulate some of that to start climbing the clean ranks.

It is distressing to witness the slip, yet we must acknowledge it and know that this is not beyond redemption. When going up the ladder, which we should hopefully, do not stop at the 30s, aim for 20s and so on. Let us make that an aim for 2025.