Corporation chief questions survey team’s score

Tiruchi slipped to 13th rank from 6th this year in the clean city ranking under Swachh Survekshan 2018
Contesting the marks awarded under the ‘service level progress’ category to Tiruchi city in the clean city ranking, Swachh Survekshan 2018, Tiruchi City Corporation has written to the Director of Swachh Bharat Mission in the Union Ministry of Urban Affairs, urging him to recheck the marks by verifying the facts and figures of documents submitted for the survey. The city has been relegated to 13th rank from 6th this year.

In an official letter to the Swachh Bharat Missiion in New Delhi, Commissioner, Tiruchi City Corporation, N. Ravichandran stated that there were reasons to believe that there was ambiguity in the survey.

The survey agency, which was tasked to do the Swachh Survekshan 2018, had failed to provide correct marks to Tiruchi city on the head of service level progress category. The survey team had not taken due consideration of documentary and material evidences while awarding marks. The standard protocol set out for the survey had not been followed.

Stating that Tiruchi city had been a top performer in Swachh ranking since the concept was introduced in 2015, Mr. Ravichandran said that it had been given just 961 marks out of 1,400 marks under 'service level progress'. The Corporation had matched most of the 50 parameters of service level progress category including collection and transportation of garbage, processing and disposal, sanitation, capacity building and innovative practices. But marks were not given on the expected line in spite of physical verification by the survey team.

Before winding up of the survey, Mr. Ravichandran said, the survey team, which visited the city to collect data and verification, was convinced about the solid waste management and said the city would get maximum of 1,400 marks in service level progress category. But, it was not eflected in the survey results. He had brought it to the notice of senior officials of the Swachh Mission about the disagreement on marks awarded to Tiruchi city.

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