Noida UP's cleanest city in Swachh rankings

NOIDA: Noida was the cleanest city in UP in the Swachh Bharat rankings that were announced on Thursday. It, however, finished 14th at the all-India level among cities with a population of more than 1 lakh.

In the last survey, Noida had bagged the 5th spot, but among cities whose population ranged between 1 lakh and 10 lakh. After the results were announced on Thursday, the Noida Authority claimed that if the 3-10 lakh category was considered this year, it would be in the second position.
Lokesh M, the Noida Authority CEO, posted on X that the NCR city had bagged the second spot in this category."Noida Authority secured 1st position in all UP category and 2nd position in the all India category for the population range of 3 to 10 lakh in Swachh Sarvekshan 2023 rankings. It has also received a five star rating as a garbage free city," he wrote.
There was no 3-10 lakh category officially in the last survey.
According to the Centre's portal where the rankings were announced, Noida secured a 100% score in doorstep waste collection. But what pulled down the rankings was the way garbage was sorted at source. The city secured only 74% in its efforts in segregating waste.
Asked about the problems with sorting, Noida Authority officials chose to compare the city's performance with that in 2018, when it ranked 324 in the 1-10 lakh category.
"We have come a long way since then. Separate dustbins were installed across the city to collect dry and wet waste, and we moved to a centralised system to collect garbage. Every day, 5,000 workers are deployed to collect waste and machines are pressed into service to sweep roads. We have also put a ban on single-use plastic. Apart from these, we undertake drives to raise awareness on the reduce, reuse and recycle model," a senior Noida Authority official said.
Residents, however, chose to differ. Many said the garbage they left outside their doors were collected in the same bag and dumped in the van to be taken to the nearest treatment plant.
"What segregation are you talking about? The other day, I saw a neighbour putting dry and wet waste in the same bag. It was collected just like that and loaded onto the van. When I asked the man who picked it up, he admitted that waste was hardly sorted before they made their way to landfills," said a Sector 78 resident.
The city, however, secured a 100% score in the way waste was treated once it reached a bio-remediation plant.
A few days ago, Noida received the 'water plus' certification among ODF cities. Although it applied for a seven-star rating among garbage-free cities, it could manage only five.
"We received the water plus certification because of our efforts in installing bar screens around drains and ensuring the muck does not stop anywhere. For this, we ensure waste is removed from drains every day. Sewage is treated at plants installed in societies and the water from it is used in parks, green belts, gardens, construction work and so on," said SP Singh, DGM (public health) at the Noida Authority.
Noida had outdone itself over the years since 2018, when it secured the 324th position. In 2019, the city moved to the 158th spot, improving further to 25th in 2020 and 4th the next year. Noida, however, slipped to the 5th position in 2022. All these rankings were in the 1-10 lakh category.