Another national-level report has been published and like so many earlier instances, Arunachal Pradesh has failed to make its presence felt for positive reasons. State capital Itanagar which aspires to be a ‘Smart City’ has ‘earned’ a place among 10 most-dirtiest cities in the country and it will be much painful for the denizens to find the city’s cleanliness quotient as unhealthy as this. Even though a bad name has been earned which will unfortunately have a negative impact on multiple fronts such as tourism, investment and others, it’s nothing indelible and effacing it is possible if intentions are genuine. For making good the loss of this prestige, it’s the honesty of efforts that will matter, else, in 2021 also, it will be barely dissimilar.

Swachh Survekshan which was initiated in 2016, based on which rankings and awards are determined has triggered a healthy competition among urban bodies across the country and in a way has infused a sense of cleanliness both among inhabitants and administrations manning them. Over the years it has evolved as the world’s largest urban sanitation survey and this time, 1.87 crore citizens’ feedback were received, 1.7 crore citizens registered on the Swachhata App, 24 lakh+ geo-tagged photos taken and complete paperless documentation were among the major highlights. Among 382 cities that have a population between 1-10 lakh, Itanagar has ranked 376th with a score of 1071.06. In terms of state-wise ranking (Category of 15 states with less than 100 Urban Local Bodies), it’s also disheartening as Arunachal has ranked 11th with a score of 837.42, with Northeast counterparts Nagaland and Manipur ranking 9th and 10th respectively. There will be an avalanche of figures across a large number of categories since as many as 129 awards were announced. Instead of talking about them as the state virtually has no notable positive presence there, a focus on what went wrong is required. From a general understanding, it can be inferred that since the survey focused mainly on parameters such as segregated waste collection and its maintenance till processing stage, treatment/reuse of wastewater, curtailing of solid waste-based air pollution among others, the major part of the overall deficiency might have their origin here. And the onus must now be on the state’s concerned department along with its Central counterparts to find out on which particular parameters the capital or the state failed so miserably. It also needs mentioning that the survey for Swachh Survekshan 2021 has already been rolled out by the Union MoHUA last month with certain core parameters and it’s now time for the state to work on them seriously, if rectifications are to be initiated.

Both the administration and denizens must accept the challenge. The task will be easier if there is a sustained reciprocation.