Arunachal’s low rank in national cleanliness report

Editor,
In the recent Operation Itanagar Municipal Corporation (IMC) run by the digital media house Arunbhoomi, the actual ground reality of city municipal of not only of Itanagar but whole of Arunachal Pradesh was shown. IMC mayor Mr. Tame Phassang had also came up with his clarification on the media report.
Arunachal Pradesh, particularly its capital city Itanagar, has been grappling with significant challenges in maintaining urban cleanliness. The recent Swachh Survekshan 2023 report released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), paints a rather grim picture for Itanagar, which ranked 431st out of 446 cities in the category of cities with a population of more than one lakh. This position places Itanagar near the bottom in the national rankings and highlights the pressing need for action. When we compare Itanagar with the top-ranked cities like Indore, which has consistently held the first position in the cleanliness rankings, the differences are stark and revealing. Even within the Northeast region, Itanagar falls short, lagging behind other cities like Imphal, which has performed better on several key cleanliness metrics.
To understand what sets the top-performing cities apart, it’s essential to delve into the specific areas where Itanagar is struggling. According to the MoHUA, the aspects of urban cleanliness are numerous and varied, but they share a common goal: ensuring that the waste management system is effective and sustainable. For reference, let’s look at the comparative performance of Itanagar, Imphal and Indore across several key indicators:
Comparison table:

Source: https://ss2023.sbmurban.org/#/home

The table above highlights the significant gaps between Itanagar and the top-ranked cities, as well as within the Northeast region. While Itanagar is doing relatively better than Imphal in certain aspects like cleanliness of residential and market areas, it still falls behind in critical areas such as source segregation and remediation of dumpsites. It is precisely these areas where Indore shines, achieving near-perfect scores across the board, which contributes to its top rank. In contrast, Itanagar’s dismal performance in source segregation (1%) and zero efforts in dumpsite remediation stand out as major impediments to its cleanliness.
The situation becomes even more concerning when comparing Arunachal Pradesh’s overall cleanliness performance with that of other Northeast states. Itanagar ranked 7th out of 8 cities in the Northeast region, with only one city performing worse. This indicates that the cleanliness issues are not just localized to the capital but are reflective of broader systemic issues across the state. Cities like Imphal, despite their challenges, have managed to outperform Itanagar particularly, in source segregation (48%) and dumpsite remediation (50%), which suggests that with the right interventions, improvements are possible.
No doubt that the IMC under Mr. Tame Phassang has thrived a lot as he mentioned in his media briefing that the IMC was in its infant stage when he took up the responsibility. Since then the public can definitely see some changes in the city. Though, the door to door garbage collection is fair enough in comparison to other action areas, Itanagar’s biggest challenge is the lack of source segregation, with only 1%(Swachh Survekshan 2023 Survey) of waste being properly sorted. This makes recycling and waste processing nearly impossible, leading to more landfills and environmental harm. This issue isn’t just limited to Itanagar but affects the entire state of Arunachal Pradesh, contributing to its poor performance in cleanliness rankings.
The lack of effort in cleaning up dumpsites and not having proper dedicated dumpsite is another major problem. These unmanaged sites not only pollute the environment but also pose serious health risks to locals. This failure to address dumpsites drags down the overall cleanliness of both the city and the state. In comparison, cities like Indore prioritize dumpsite remediation, turning these problem areas into green spaces and better waste management solutions. Indore’s focus on this has played a big role in its clean and well-kept environment, highlighting just how much Itanagar could improve with similar efforts.
Another area where Itanagar falls short is in waste collection and processing. While the city has a door-to-door waste collection rate of 68%, which is significantly better than Imphal, the lack of waste processing facilities means that much of this collected waste ends up in landfills, adding to the city’s environmental burden. This highlights the need for a more comprehensive approach to waste management, one that includes not just collection but also processing and recycling.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom. There have been remarkable developments particularly, in the areas of residential and market cleanliness, where Itanagar has shown improvement. These successes, albeit limited, demonstrate that progress is possible. The state government and the Itanagar Municipal Corporation (IMC) can build on these achievements by implementing targeted interventions to address the city’s most pressing cleanliness challenges.
To move forward, Arunachal Pradesh particularly, Itanagar, must take a leaf out of the playbooks of cities like Indore and even Imphal. The state government needs to launch comprehensive waste segregation programs that are enforced at the grassroots level. Public awareness campaigns, coupled with stringent regulations, can go a long way in improving source segregation rates. The IMC should focus on expanding waste collection to 100% coverage and ensure that all collected waste is processed efficiently. Dumpsite remediation should be prioritized, with projects that convert these sites into green spaces or waste-to-energy plants.
Yomli Mayi