PCMC Beats Pune To Rank Among India's 10 Cleanest Cities

Anil Pharande

The verdict by Swachh Survekshan 2016, a survey undertaken by the Ministry of Urban Development February 15, 2016 to monitor how far the Union Government's Swachh Bharat Mission has progressed, was an eye-opener for India. While the multiple award-winning Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation ranked 9th on the list of India's 10 Cleanest Cities, Pune - administered by the Pune Municipal Corporation, did not make it to the Top 10 list at all.

Altogether, the Swachh Survekshan 2016 survey studied 73 cities having populations of 10 lakh or above, and focused on aspects such availability of public and private latrines, the efficiency of services delivery, solid waste management and infrastructure development. Always at the forefront when it comes to providing a healthy, wholesome life to its residents, PCMC had in the recent past added to its solid waste processing capabilities via a new garbage depot. This mechanised plant processes 500 tonnes of garbage into compost useful for agriculture on a daily basis. Moreover,PCMC has set the national trend in its progressive and scientific management of landfills, as well as its initiative to turn waste plastic into energy.

Another variable which the Swachh Survekshan 2016 survey focused on was the effectiveness of communication in the identified cities, specifically their citizens' access to information and education, and the civic authorities' proactive approach to in Behaviour Change Communication (BCC). BCC is a very important interactive function via which a city’s governing authorities communicate with the city's population to ensure that initiatives to help the city to grow and prosper are understood and adopted.

Without a doubt, PCMC has been consistent in upholding its promises to provide the very best living standards to its residents. Therefore, the fact that it has been numbered in the 10 Cleanest Cities of India comes as no surprise. The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation is a veritable masterpiece of urban planning, driven by an unrelenting focus on infrastructure, sustainability and future-readiness. It offers a sharp contrast to the confused and retrograde approach being followed by the Pune Municipal Corporation, which has not been able to deliver on the functions and aspects that make a city worth living in.

The fact that PCMC has been able to come out a winner on the list of India's 10 Cleanest Cities is all the more remarkable if we consider that this region is home to the thriving MIDC industrial belt, as well as the Hinjawadi Infotech Park. These hubs are among the country's most prolific employment generators, causing countless new skilled professionals to make PCMC their home every year. 

Despite the immense complexities this presents to the city authorities, PCMC has consistently risen to the challenges and continues to provide people from all walks of life and income segments with a wholesome, healthy environment to live and work in. It has been able to do this is by encouraging the development of integrated townships and ensuring that all real estate development happens with strict compliance to its town planning norms.

In PCMC, open spaces and green 'lung' pockets are available in every sector to control pollution and provide citizens with places to meet and relax, and wide roads and over/underpasses allow for free-flowing traffic. Water and electricity supply is several times more reliable than in the Pune Municipal Corporation, and highly efficient civic sanitation services ensure that all residential and commercial zones are kept clean.        

Thanks to these factors, there is no doubt that PCMC will move further up the rankings over the next few years. In the meantime, it will continue to focus on maintaining its well-deserved reputation for being the best region in the country for people to work, live and prosper in.

Contributed by  Anil Pharande, Chairman - Pharande Spaces.