Uttarakhand misses national rankings in Swachh Survekshan, structural reforms needed
PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE | DEHRADUN
Uttarakhand did not secure any position in the main award categories of Swachh Survekshan 2024–25 while cities from several States including Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh featured prominently in the national rankings. Cities like Indore, Surat, Noida, Mysuru, Ujjain and Ambikapur received recognition for their performance. Stating this, the environmental action and advocacy group Social Development for Communities (SDC) Foundation
pointed out that in contrast, Uttarakhand’s cities such as Dehradun, Haridwar, Roorkee, Rishikesh and Haldwani failed to appear in the rankings. SDC Foundation’s Anoop Nautiyal said that this reflects a long-standing neglect in prioritising waste management at the political and administrative levels. He described the absence of Uttarakhand’s cities as a consistent outcome of systemic failure rather than the shortcomings of any single urban local body. He also claimed that while Lalkuan has been acknowledged under the Promising Swachh Shehar of State/UT category, this recognition is part of a format that selects one city per State, making it a token representation rather than a competitive recognition based on comparative performance.
Nautiyal stated that Uttarakhand needs a waste management commission to address the issue through structural changes. He explained that waste management involves multiple departments and is governed by six separate waste management rules notified by the Central government in 2016. These include rules for plastic, solid, biomedical, hazardous, construction and demolition, and e-waste. He claimed that the current governance system involving multiple committees and departments is inadequate to manage these streams daily across the State’s 95 blocks and 13 districts. With tourist and pilgrim numbers expected to rise beyond the current eight to 10 crore annual visitors, he warned that the waste management burden will only grow heavier. Nautiyal said that Uttarakhand should establish a dedicated waste management commission which must be led by an independent domain expert, not a political appointee or overburdened bureaucrat and should be given full authority, budget and rank equal to a cabinet or State minister.
