Ahead of Swachhta Survekshan: Chandigarh civic body to organise cleanliness contest for 26 wards

The competition announcement is likely to be made by the officials of the civic body on Gandhi Jayanti on October 2. There are 26 wards in the Municipal Corporation.

There would be different parameters for judging all the wards. The best and the worst wards in terms of cleanliness would be declared. Sources said that the team of officers that is supposed to be judging each ward would comprise one SDM- level officer, two HCS and PCS officers and another officer, all from the Chandigarh Administration.

Medical Officer of Health Dr Amrit Warring said that they will be asking residents of the wards certain questions to judge the wards and also know their knowledge about survekshan.

“Residents will be asked different questions about maintenance of parks, where hazardous waste is being dumped. The waste collector is carrying which bins and if he is regular or not,” the MOH said.

Other than this, residents would be asked different questions: how toilets are maintained, if segregation of waste is being done or not, how is hazardous waste is being disposed of, is the waste collector coming on time, collecting waste properly, availability and cleanliness of public toilets, is segregation being done and if they have heard of any IEC (information, education and communication) activities of the Survekshan on any FM or other channel?

The officer added, “At this time when we have independent waste collectors who are not under the Municipal Corporation, this is the only way to educate and ask our citizens about the feedback for each ward.”

Congress councillor Devinder Singh Babla said, “They have realised it very soon to conduct this competition and make residents aware. Why couldn’t they think of it in the last four years? I have been saying that if they give areas like they have given parks to RWAs, they can maintain them far better than the officials of MC do.”

He added, “Officials of MOH take huge salaries and can’t even keep small areas clean. Heaps of garbage keep lying. The RWAs will maintain such areas in much lesser amounts than the salaries they take.”