PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
As the authorities in Dehradun claim to be stepping up efforts to enhance sanitation efforts especially in view of Swachh Survekshan 2026, observers point out that the local authorities in Dehradun have repeatedly failed to perform upto the mark. The authorities in Dehradun prefer to cover heaps of roadside dumps with green netting during surveys – as witnessed in the past- while failing to enforce the law on segregation of waste at source and ensuring door to door collection of garbage.
Dehradun had secured 62nd position in the previous Swachh Survekshan and despite claims made by bureaucrats, the ground reality remains largely unchanged, according to observers.
The Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) has installed CCTV cameras in locations notorious for public littering and taken other measures for enhancing the city’s level of sanitation. Some months ago, the MCD was reportedly working on making a list of citizens not disposing of their garbage through the door to door collection service provided by the corporation.
The list and the resulting action is yet to be seen in the city with a considerable proportion of the city’s populace dumping garbage in the open on a regular basis. Official sources on condition of anonymity state that the corporation is considerably short of staff to effectively handle sanitation and other essential tasks. The shortage of staff is an issue that has been affecting the corporation’s performance for more than a decade.
As the MCD prepares to improve its ranking in the national sanitation survey with measures that have short term effects, observers question the apathy of the Urban Development department and the State government in letting the provisional State capital witness deterioration consistently in the basic level of sanitation and other aspects.
