Civic Bodies Falter on Sanitation; Rayalaseema Districts Lag in SASA Rankings

Kadapa: Municipal corporations, municipalities and nagar panchayats across Rayalaseema have recorded poor sanitation performance in a recent IVRS-based public feedback exercise conducted under the Swachhandhra–Swarnandhra initiative, raising the people’s concern ahead of the monsoon season.

The findings showed that while Anantapur and Chittoor districts performed relatively better, sanitation conditions in Kurnool, Nandyal and YSR Kadapa districts remained unsatisfactory. Several Grade-II municipalities and urban local bodies were found to be lagging in waste management, with complaints of irregular garbage collection and poor maintenance.

The Kurnool municipal corporation came in for criticism over its waste collection and sanitation management. The report noted deficiencies in routine sanitation operations. Similar concerns were reported from Nandyal district, where both urban and rural areas were found to be struggling with door-to-door garbage collection.

Residents expressed concern over the deteriorating conditions. “The situation in Kadapa is alarming. There is foul smell everywhere and the mosquito menace has increased significantly,” said M Nagaraju, a resident associated with Kadapa municipal corporation.

The latest SASA (Swarnandhra–Swachhandhra) rankings reflected the disparities in performance across districts and urban local bodies. Nandyal slipped to 21st position, while Tirupati dropped to 24th. Kadapa and Kurnool secured 19th and 20th ranks respectively.

Officials attributed the poor rankings to failure in achieving 100 per cent door-to-door garbage collection, lack of source segregation, inadequate onsite waste-processing facilities and incomplete implementation of the ODF model in rural areas.

Kurnool collector A Siri said strict action would be taken against lapses in waste collection.

“We have warned the staff that any negligence will invite stringent action. If hotels or commercial establishments dump garbage on roads, their power and water supply will be disconnected,” she said, adding that sanitation was gradually improving.

However, residents said the situation on the ground remained unsatisfactory. In some mandal headquarters, proper garbage collection systems are yet to be put in place. In Vempalle mandal of Pulivendula constituency, heaps of uncollected waste caused inconvenience and foul odour. Similar complaints have emerged from parts of Nandyal municipality.

“We are paying taxes, but the condition of sanitation is pathetic. Sometimes, garbage is not collected even once in three days,” said a government employee from Kurnool municipality.

With the monsoon setting in, concerns are growing over the potential public health risks arising from inadequate sanitation infrastructure in several urban and rural local bodies across Rayalaseema.

Sanitation and waste collection performance of Rayalaseema districts in the state