So what pulled down Chennai in the all-India Swachh ranking this year? The answer is: Poor waste management and low sanitation standards at public toilets and waterbodies.The city slipped from fifth spot last year to 104th rank in Tamil Nadu in the Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 survey, results of which were released on Thursday.

A total of 651 places in the state were ranked in the survey.Of the total 40 cities with more than 10 lakh population in the country, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, and Lucknow secured the top three ranks by scoring 100% in various categories, including door-to-door waste collection, cleanliness in residential areas, water bodies, and public toilets. Among them, Chennai district ranked 38th, with only 54% for door-to-door waste collection, 36% for source segregation, and 21% for waste generation and processing by the local body.

The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), however, still claims it had rolled out several initiatives, including door-to-door waste collection, segregation rules for bulk waste generators, and fines for dumping garbage in public spaces. It said the citizen feedback was limited.Every day, around 6,150 tonnes of garbage is collected from the city. Night conservancy is also carried out in all residential, market, and commercial areas.

Door-to-door collection of garbage is carried out in all zones. The collection has been privatized for solid waste management at 12 zones. Among these, two zones — Royapuram and Thiru Vi Ka Nagar — were recently outsourced but are yet to receive work orders. However, neither door-to-door collection nor waste segregation has been effectively carried out by either private contractors or corporation sanitary workers.Residents complain that vacant plots and dustbins have become dumping grounds. "Though door-to-door waste collection has been welcomed, sanitary workers dump garbage on the road claiming they would segregate it and take it to Kodungaiyur dump yard. However, they fail to do so. We are unable to use that road due to the foul smell, and it leads to various health hazards," said A Balaganesh, a resident of Kaladipet in Tiruvottiyur zone.Similarly, the survey revealed that the percentage of functional public toilets has reduced from 77 to 33 this year due to poor maintenance by the corporation. Though the corporation claimed it would hand over maintenance to private contractors, no steps have been taken.It is noted that the biomining process at Perungudi and Kodungaiyur dump yards is carried out at a slow pace, and the remediation of dumpsites is 33%.

GCC commissioner J Kumaragurubaran said, "Compared to other districts, Chennai is doing well. However, the feedback received has been minimal, which is the primary reason for the drop in ranking. Outsourcing is the key to improving waste management in the city. Several zones are already maintained by private players, and the remaining will also be outsourced, which will ensure visible changes.

"He added, "the number of complaints raised by the public is relatively lower in the privatized zones compared to the areas maintained by the corporation, even on social media platforms."Additionally, the GCC has planned to install CCTV cameras in 400 hotspots to monitor waste dumping in public places and impose penalties on violators. This, too, will be privatized soon.