One of the factors dragging down the city’s Swachh Survekshan rankings was the lack of citizen participation in the survey, which seems to have been set right this year.
In a first such effort, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has collected over 5 lakh responses from citizens across different sections of the society on solid waste management in the city. These responses have now been submitted for the Swachh Survekshan, 2022.
According to senior Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials, the city has always fared badly in getting adequate responses from citizens for the survey, impacting its overall ranking. The city ranked 28 out of 48 municipal corporations with a population of over 10 lakh in 2021.
This time around, concerted efforts were taken to collect feedback from citizens. Spearheaded by BBMP’s Special Commissioner (Solid Waste Management) Harish Kumar, around 210 junior health inspectors, 262 Marshals, 282 link workers, and 13 student volunteers from a government college were tasked with getting responses from citizens.
An official told The Hindu that Google forms, made available in both English and Kannada, were also sent across. That apart, survey responses were also collected from citizens who would be able to scan QR codes.
Feedback collected on various aspects of solid waste management, including door-to-door collection, segregation of waste at source, public toilets etc., has now been submitted for assessment to the Swachch Survekshan, 2022.
“To ensure there is no tampering and that all responses are genuine, we have collected the feedback along with the mobile phone numbers of the respondents. Without the mobile phone numbers, the responses cannot be uploaded,” said V. Ramaprasad, waste management expert who is helping the BBMP improve its Swachch Survekshan ranking.
Meanwhile, the feedback by over 5 lakh citizens will be mined to better solid waste management in the city, senior civic officials said. “Presently, it is the property of the Swachch Survekshan. Once it is handed over, we will analyse the feedback, address the shortcomings, which will also help improve our service delivery,” they said.
Activist V. Ramprasad said the civic body was now looking at integrating such a feedback collection mechanism in SWM in the city. “When food delivery apps collect feedback from citizens for every delivery, the BBMP too should be able to collect responses for its delivery of service,” he said.
