Thiruvananthapuram: Alappuzha, which was one of the top three clean cities in the country as per a survey by the Centre for Science and Environment, ranks 380 in ‘Swachh Sarvekshan’ survey. No city in Kerala has come in the top 250.
Kozhikode at 254th position is the best ranking Kerala city. In the survey conducted by the Ministry of Urban Development, Kochi, Palakkad, Guruvayoor, Thrissur, Kollam, Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram rank 271, 286, 306, 324, 365, 366 and 372 respectively.
The parameters considered for the survey do not suit Kerala’s waste management systems at all, according to Suchitwa Mission executive director K. Vasuki. “Kerala follows a decentralised system of waste management.
Parameters like ‘door-to-door collection of waste’ or a ‘waste processing plant’ is not applicable in cities like Thiruvananthapuram. Here, the focus has been on a behaviour change in which people start processing organic waste at the source itself,” she says.
The need for modifying the protocol was brought to the notice of Central government officials. “They are looking at infrastructural changes, while we have been focussing on behavioural change. I had requested them to change the protocols as it would not suit Kerala. Probably, we need to drive it a little more,” she says.
Kerala has issues that need to be addressed. For example, there has to be a system for door-to-door collection of dry waste. “The cities need to look into this and devise corrective action, she says.
Kerala cities like Thiruvananthapuram fare better than Indore and Bhopal – the top-ranking cities according to the MoUD survey – on various cleanliness parameters, according to Vasuki.
