September 1994 saw the diamond city of Surat wracked by bubonic plague that claimed 56 lives, led to a huge exodus of its citizens and brought under light the many ills that had led to the tragedy. Importantly, it shook the people and the administration into action.

S R Rao, the then Surat municipal commissioner, unleashed a series of “revolutionary” measures that changed the rat infested, unhygienic and disorganised city into one that was declared the second cleanest in the country by INTACH. What really mattered is that the lessons were not unlearnt as soon as the initial momentum wore off. From decentralisation of departments, expediting of projects, assuring accountability of ward officers to desilting of the river and cleaning of sewage lines, there was a tectonic shift that was sought and obtained. “It’s a daily ongoing activity to constantly improve on the foundations laid at that time,” says Aparna S, Surat municipal commissioner who recently commissioned 1,600 individual public toilets and 160 pay and use toilets in the city.

And now Pune can take a cue from Surat’s success story. Even though the H1N1 virus did not spread in the city because of rats or water logging in the case of Surat, the fact remains that there is a dire need to clean up the city.

Pune Municipal Commissioner Mahesh Zagade admits that cleaning up the city has to be done on priority. “We have plans for decreasing the carbon footrprint in the city by reducing emission and pollution levels. Efforts are on for processing of cent per cent of solid waste management. There is a definite plan to clean up the streets through a strong conservancy staff. There will be a dedicated administrative set up for all 144 wards. All we need to do now is streamline the efforts and the change will be perceptible. Surat had a different set of problems. We have to look at things from our perspective,” said Zadage.

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