Clean sweep: Chandigarh best city in terms of sanitation

Chandigarh has been adjudged the best city in terms of quality sanitation under the National Rating and Award Scheme for Sanitation for Indian Cities by the Ministry of Urban Development,Government of India. The city scored 73.48 points. Mysore has been placed second and Surat as third in the national level survey.

The cities have been rated based on the National Urban Sanitation Policy that includes aspects like the city must be open-defecation free,it must eliminate the practice of manual scavenging and provide adequate personnel protection equipment that addresses the safety of sanitation workers,municipal waste water and storm water drainage must be safely managed,recycle and reuse of treated waste water for non-potable applications should be implemented wherever possible,solid waste collected and disposed off fully and safely,services to the poor and systems for sustaining results,improved public health outcomes and environmental standards.

The rating of cities with regard to their performance in sanitation improvements was based on set of objective indicators of outputs,processes and outcomes. The output-related indicators were given 50 points,against which Chandigarh has been awarded 36.25 points. In process-related indicators,Chandigarh has scored 21.08 points out of 30,while in outcome-related indicators,16.15 points have been received out of 20. The award is based on the premise that improved public health and environmental standards are the two outcomes that cities must seek to ensure for urban citizens. Improved sanitation can ensure improved public health and environmental outcomes,only if considerable changes in behaviour and practice take place across the spectrum of the society.