Cities to get rating on garbage disposal

NEW DELHI: A star rating of cities on a scale of zero to seven (0-7) in its bid to push cities to achieve “garbage-free” status will soon be launched by the urban affairs ministry.

The 10 parameters identified for scaling the cities include a percentage of door-to-door collection of waste, segregation of garbage at source, cleaning public areas and waste treatment.

One of the parameters will be charging user fees and imposing penalties and spot fines for littering. Further, the cities will also get scores for enforcement of ban on using thin plastic. Daily sweeping including night sweeping will also be a parameter for rating of cities. “Like the Swachh Survekshan ranking, competition will be the driving force in the star rating of cities to get the ‘garbage free’ tag. The cities will get five and seven-star rating only after third-party agencies certify them. For all ratings, citizens groups besides local municipal representatives will be involved,” said a ministry official. Going by the parameters set by the Centre, it’s unlikely that any municipality in the country will qualify for five and seven-star ratings since they need to get 100% score in every identified target. Considering that unlike in rural areas where half the task is done by building toilets in cities filth, mounds of garbage dumps, littering and open urination, the urban ministry guidelines has a greater focus on installation of waste storage and litter bins.

Cities will be required to enforce bulk waste generators like hotels, restaurants and banquets have their own waste treatment facility. To get the seven-star rating cities will need to achieve a quantifiable reduction in the waste generation on per capita basis.