Ahmedabad ranks 43rd of 53 districts surveyed in Govt of India's cleanliness report, worse than most of Gujarat

Score of 13 Gujarat districts out of 53 chosen for survey

By Rajiv Shah
A Government of India report has ranked Ahmedabad 43rd in its cleanliness survey of 53 districts it has selected for the purpose. Worse, Ahmedabad, which is desperately seeking world heritage tag from UNESCO, ranks poorer than all but one of the 13 districts chosen from Gujarat out of 53.
With a score of 71.6 out of 100, the survey finds Ahmedabad, the business capital of Gujarat, and sought to be projected as a model for urban India, performing worse than the tribal districts of Tapi and Narmada, with a score of 74.9 and 78 respectively. Only one district, Panchmahal, ranks worse than Ahmedabad, with a score of 64.1.
The best score in Gujarat is that of state capital Gandhinagar, 82.9. However, the survey finds Gandhinagar to rank 18th of the 53 districts surveyed. The best performer in India is Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra, with a score of 96.8. Next is Nadia district of West Bengal with a score of 96.8, followed by Satara district of Maharashtra with a score of 92.9 per cent.
Key parameters with weightage for the survey are: Percentage of households having access to Safe toilets and using them: 40; percentage of households having no litter around: 30; average score of cleanliness (out of 100) around public places: 20; and percentage of households having no wastewater around: 10.
If the survey is any indication, just about 63 per cent of Ahmedabad households have safe toilets and are using them. This is against 99 per cent in the best-performing district of Sindhudurg Maharashtra, followed by Nadia in West Bengal 97 per cent, and Satara in Maharashtra 96 per cent.

Several of Gujarat districts, in fact, perform better than Gujarat in having household toilets – Anand 65 per cent, Bharuch and Surat both 64 per cent, Kheda 66 per cent, Patan 68 per cent, Navsari 78 per cent, Gandhinagar and Mehsana 73 per cent each.
In the three other parameters used for the survey -- percentage of households having no litter around, average score of cleanliness (out of 100) around public places, and percentage of households having no wastewater around: 10 – Ahmedabad, interestingly, performs even worse.
Based on National Sample Survey (NSS) data collected last year, the report find that while 55.5 per cent of Gujarat’s households have sanitary households, in all, 96.2 per cent of the population either uses household or community toilets for defecation.
Titled “Swacch Survekshan” (Cleanliness Survey), the report was released by the Government of India’s Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation on September 10. As already reported variously, the report ranks Gujarat 14th in the number households using sanitary toilets in India. Sikkim ranks No 1, followed by Kerala. Both have 98.2 per cent and 97.6 per cent households using sanitary toilets.
Providing its “ranking methodology”, the report says, the “process and outcome indicators of the survey were conceived by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, in association with the Quality Council of India” with the involvement of “150 assessors”, who were deployed to visit rural areas in 75 districts and collect sanitation related data.
“A special mobile based application was created for the collection of data. This application was installed on handheld tablets which were used to ensure that information collected was consistent by validating through geo-tagged pictures”, the report says.

Comments

1857 War of Independence... when Hindu-Muslim separatism, hatred wasn't an issue

"The Sepoy Revolt at Meerut", Illustrated London News, 1857 By Shamsul Islam* Large sections of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs unitedly challenged the greatest imperialist power, Britain, during India’s First War of Independence which began on May 10, 1857; the day being Sunday. This extraordinary unity, naturally, unnerved the firangees and made them realize that if their rule was to continue in India, it could happen only when Hindus and Muslims, the largest two religious communities were divided on communal lines.

The curious case of multiple entries of a female voter of Maharashtra: What ECI's online voter records reveal

By Venkatesh Nayak* Cyberspace is agog with data, names and documents which question the reliability of the electoral rolls prepared by the electoral bureaucracy in Maharashtra prior to the General Elections conducted in 2024. One such example of deep dive probing has brought to the surface, the name of one female voter in the 132-Nalasopara (Gen) Vidhan Sabha Constituency in Maharashtra. Nalasopara is part of the Palghar (ST) Lok Sabha constituency. This media report claims that this individual's name figures multiple times in the voter list of the same constituency.

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

Spirit of leadership vs bondage: Of empowered chairman of 100-acre social forestry coop

By Gagan Sethi* This is about Khoda Sava, a young Dalit belonging to the Vankar sub-caste, who worked as a bonded labourer in a village near Vadgam in Banskantha district of North Gujarat. The year was 1982. Khoda had taken a loan of Rs 7,000 from the village sarpanch, a powerful landlord doing money-lending as his side business. Khoda, who had taken the loan for marriage, was landless. Normally, villagers would mortgage their land if they took loan from the sarpanch. But Khoda had no land. He had no option but to enter into a bondage agreement with the sarpanch in order to repay the loan. Working in bondage on the sarpanch’s field meant that he would be paid Rs 1,200 per annum, from which his loan amount with interest would be deducted. He was also obliged not to leave the sarpanch’s field and work as daily wager somewhere else. At the same time, Khoda was offered meal once a day, and his wife job as agricultural worker on a “priority basis”. That year, I was working as secretary...

Ground reality: Israel would a remain Jewish state, attempt to overthrow it will be futile

By NS Venkataraman* Now that truce has been arrived at between Israel and Hamas for a period of four days and with release of a few hostages from both sides, there is hope that truce would be further extended and the intensity of war would become significantly less. This likely “truce period” gives an opportunity for the sworn supporters and bitter opponents of Hamas as well as Israel and the observers around the world to introspect on the happenings and whether this war could have been avoided. There is prolonged debate for the last several decades as to whom the present region that has been provided to Jews after the World War II belong. View of some people is that Jews have been occupants earlier and therefore, the region should belong to Jews only. However, Christians and those belonging to Islam have also lived in this regions for long period. While Christians make no claim, the dispute is between Jews and those who claim themselves to be Palestinians. In any case...

Proposed Modi yatra from Jharkhand an 'insult' of Adivasi hero Birsa Munda: JMM

Counterview Desk The civil rights network, Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (JMM), which claims to have 30 grassroots groups under its wings, has decided to launch Save Democracy campaign to oppose Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vikasit Bharat Sankalp Yatra to be launched on November 15 from the village of legendary 19th century tribal independence leader Birsa Munda from Ulihatu (Khunti district).

Two more "aadhaar-linked" Jharkhand deaths: 17 die of starvation since Sept 2017

Kaleshwar's sons Santosh and Mantosh Counterview Desk A fact-finding team of the Right to Feed Campaign, pointing towards the death of two more persons due to starvation in Jharkhand, has said that this has happened because of the absence of aadhaar, leading to “persistent lack of food at home and unavailability of any means of earning.” It has disputed the state government claims that these deaths are due to reasons other than starvation, adding, the authorities have “done nothing” to reduce the alarming state of food insecurity in the state.

Govt of India "tarnishing" NGO reputation, dossier leaked selectively: Amnesty

Counterview Desk Amnesty International India has said that a deliberate attempt is being made to tarnish its reputation by leaking a dossier, supposedly made by investigating agencies, to media without giving it access to any such information. The high profile NGO’s claim follows a Times Now report about proceedings launched by investigative agencies, including Enforcement Directorate (ED) against the rights body for “violations” of rules pertaining to overseas donations.

Morbi’s ceramic workers face silicosis epidemic, 92% denied legal health benefits: PTRC study

By Rajiv Shah A new study by the Gujarat-based health rights organisation, Peoples Training and Research Centre (PTRC), warns that most workers in Morbi district’s ceramic industry—which produces 90% of India’s ceramic output—are at high risk of contracting silicosis, a deadly occupational disease.

Search This Blog