How unsanitary can we get?!

– by A Special Correspondent

Madras is a dismal 235th out of 434 Indian cities surveyed in Swachh Suvekshan – 2017, an assessment based on sanitation management. Tiruchirappalli is the only Tamil Nadu city ranked in the first ten; it is 8th.
The survey is conducted annually by the Quality Council of India on behalf of the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, and the data is provided by municipal bodies, obtained from independent assessors and, most importantly, citizens’ feedback, all evaluated to a maximum of 2000 marks. Chennai scored 916!

That score and ranking are certainly sufficient for us to feel disappointed over Chennai’s sad state on sanitation and hygiene. The score cannot be dismissed as a statistical exercise criticising the sample size and other aspects of methodology. The finding is amply vindicated by the daily experiences and observations of the residents of this City – the survey only quantifies and confirms what we have been feeling.

What is even more disturbing is that Chennai has fallen precipitously from 1194 points in 2016 (which, if maintained would have had us 120th) to 916 in 2017. The situation has become worse by 23 per cent. The reasons are not far to seek. Political uncertainty and neglect of governance are causes for concern.

Comparing ourselves with other capital cities in the South, Bengaluru has pipped us to rank 210 against our 235. Direct sensory experience of that city does not justify Bengaluru’s image being a significantly better performer than Chennai in respect of sanitation and cleanliness. But that is no comfort! Greater Hyderabad at 22, Bhubaneswar at 94 and Greater Mumbai at 29 are enough to make us feel down-hearted. To recover from that sinking feeling, we can look at Kochi at 271 – 36 ranks below us! – and derive some dubious comfort.

The Survey identifies the failure areas. On solid waste collection and transport, Chennai’s score is very low (184/900) due to more than one reason. Cleaning of commercial areas have been neglected. Commercial areas are a major source for generating garbage and pollution. Deployment of informal waste pickers has been far from adequate. Plastic and organic wastes are consequently not separated, impeding treatment and making dumping inevitable. Want of adequate operational processing capacity is a basic handicap noted by the Survey. It is shuddering to think, for want of processing capacity, how much of untreated toxic material is being dumped or released indiscriminately every day. Shortfall in respect of adequate sanitary land-fills and waste water stagnation in various wards are other deficiencies identified by the study. Waste segregation at ward level has not met the required minimum norm.

It is difficult to understand why there should have been a large shortfall in toilet construction against the sanctioned number under IHHL (Individual Household Latrine Applications) for which assistance is made available from the Centre. Shortages of toilets explains why Chennai could not reach an ODF (Open Defecation Free) status which other cities have accomplished.

Citizens’ perceptions are an important test. Asked if they found the city cleaner than in 2016, only 50 per cent answered in the positive. Only 30 per cent of them said that enough number of dustbins were available. The general satisfaction level was recorded as 50 per cent, which only shows the tolerance and generosity levels of residents.

Training of staff in sanitation and public health departments is a basic requisite for successful sewer waste management; they need training to handle the various stages of segregation, collection, treatment and disposal measures for which online training is provided by the Centre. Chennai authorities have not taken the available online facility seriously. Unfilled vacancies should not be more than 10 per cent of the sanctioned strength whereas unfilled vacancies are above this limit. These two criteria indicate insufficient trained staff.

Complaint resolution has registered a low score. Training staff, giving them necessary tools and equipment, and a monitoring and control system constitute essential elements in building institutional capacity to cope with waste water management in a large city like Chennai. Capacity building has registered a poor score of 5 out of 45.

Overall, Chennai authorities seem to have lost much ground and need to recover quickly before it becomes too difficult to retrieve. The Survey is a timely wake call. Everyday reports of sewage overflows, unhygienic dump yards, and toilets without water are testing the patience of Chennai’s citizens. The authorities must get down to business and ensure that Chennai is a better sanitised city.

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