Vadodara: Struggling to get a good ranking in Swachh Survekshan over the past couple of years, the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) has now decided to rope in a consultancy firm that has worked with Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC), which has topped the rankings seven times. In 2023, despite an improvement in its overall score, Vadodara slipped to 33rd place, down from 14th in 2022 and 8th in 2021. The city’s decline in the rankings has been frustrating for the civic body, especially given its steady rise in previous years, when it jumped from a dismal 78th place in 2019 to 10th in 2020.
The recent drop, despite multiple initiatives to improve waste management and sanitation, has raised eyebrows and spurred action. The Swachh Survekshan is an annual survey of cleanliness, hygiene and sanitation in villages, cities and towns across India conducted by the Union ministry for urban development. VMC sources claim that a significant reason for a lower rank in 2023 was the change in the format of the contest.
Earlier, cities with over 1 lakh population and those with lower populations were ranked separately. In 2023, these categories were eliminated. However, it is believed that even with the older system, the city would have finished in the 18th position, which would have been better than 2023 but still lower than its rank in 2021 and 2022.
VMC officials argue that the city’s fall in the rankings was not just about the state of cleanliness on the ground. Instead, they point to changes in the contest’s format and gaps in areas like documentation, public engagement and adaptation to new survey criteria. To address these challenges, the VMC decided to rope in a consultant.
Tenders were issued and two agencies — Brain Above Infosol Pvt Ltd (BAIPL) and KPMG Advisory Services Pvt Ltd — showed interest. BAIPL submitted the lower bid. After further negotiations, it agreed to take up the work for Rs 1.
17 crore. The agency has worked with other municipal corporations, including the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. A proposal to rope in the agency was put up before the standing committee, which took it up last week.
The committee cleared the proposal after some discussions. Sources say that the city unit of the BJP, the ruling party in VMC, had also discussed the matter and wanted to discuss it further or seek clarifications. Still, it eventually allowed the committee to clear the proposal.
The agency will investigate key aspects linked to the rankings, including sustainable sanitation, wastewater management, solid waste management, information, education, and communication activities with capacity building. Sources said that work towards Swachh Survekshan 2024 had already started, and the civic body needed technical support for it, which the consultant will provide..
