Swachh Survekshan 2019 rankings: Visakhapatnam registers its lowest rank in three years

The much-awaited Swachh Survekshan 2019 rankings are out. Indore continued to reign supreme with a score of 4659.09 to be crowned as India’s cleanest city for the third consecutive time. Ambikapur and Mysore followed suit with scores of 4394.09 and 4378.54 respectively. However, much to the disappointment of GVMC and numerous Vizagites, Visakhapatnam, which bagged the seventh spot last year, slumped further down in the latest rankings.

GVMC Visakhapatnam has been awarded a score of 3744.09 to stand 23rd on the list of Swachh Survekshan 2019 rankings. In Andhra Pradesh, Vizag stood as the third cleanest city of the state, following Tirupati and Vijayawada, which bagged the 8th and 12th spots respectively this year.

Each city has been awarded a score out of a total 5000 marks, which have been classified into four sections of Direct Observation, Service Level Progres, Citizen Feedback and Certification, all bearing an equal weightage.

Visakhapatnam has been awarded a score of 1193 under Direct Observation while the sections of Service Level Progress and Certification have recorded 914.02 and 600 respectively. The Citizen Feedback, which generally plays a crucial part in determining the final outcome, wasn’t too encouraging either and garnered a score of 1037.07, restricting the total score of the city in the Swachh Survekshan.

Data also revealed that as many as 77441 individuals from Visakhapatnam participated in the survey to lend their feedback on the city. Visakhapatnam recorded its best performance in Swachh Survekshan 2017 when it was merited as the country’s third cleanest city.

While Ahmedabad won the award for the Cleanest Big City (above 10 lakh population), Ujjain stood as the Cleanest Medium City (3-10 lakh population) and NDMC (Delhi) bagged the honours for the Cleanest Small City (1-3 lakh population).

The Swachh Survekshan 2019 awards were conferred by President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday at a ceremony in New Delhi. Congratulating Indore for the remarkable feat in the Swachh Survekshan 2019 rankings, Union Housing Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted “Absolutely Brilliant! Indore is India’s Cleanest City for the 3rd year running. My heartiest congratulations to the Swachhagrahis of Indore for their unmatched dedication & participation in transforming Swachh Bharat into a Jan Andolan.”

List of awards in a few other categories

Cleanest Capital/UT City- Bhopal

Fastest Mover Capital/UT City- Chennai

Best City in Citizen Feedback- Ranchi

Best City in Innovation and Best Practices- Greater Mumbai

Best City in Solid Waste Management- Chandigarh