Swachh Survekshan: Karnataka govt to hire private firm for documentation

Karnataka has decided to hire a private consultant to improve its position in the implementation of Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) at a cost of Rs 21.3 lakh per month for the next three years.

This after it took a beating in the Swachh Survekshan ranking this year.

Swachh Survekshan ranks states based on the sanitation and cleanliness in urban areas.

Also Read: Mysuru 8th cleanest city: Karnataka’s poor show in the Swachh Survekshan cleanliness survey

During the 2022 rankings in October, Karnataka, which competes with states having more than 100 urban local bodies, fared poorer than Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar.

At the high-powered committee meeting of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) held recently, the directorate of municipal administration (DMA) sought the approval for its move to hire a private company to manage the implementation of SBM 2.0 in urban areas.

Officials cited the challenge of documentation, managing data and information, coordination and follow-up with ULBs and wards along with coordination with the union government team for hiring the agency through a tender in June.

“Ratification is sought for selecting the agency, KPMG Advisory Services Pvt Ltd, for assisting the state mission directorate for effective implementation of SBM and also to continue as PMU (project management unit) for SBM 2.0,” the department said in its submission.

To a question, IAS officer Manjushree N, who took charge of DMA recently, said the company was hired as a project management unit and the scope goes beyond the Swachh Survekshan rankings.

“Subject experts will assist the directorate in implementation of the project (SBM), with a focus on solid waste management, legacy waste management and used water management,” she said.

An activist who has worked with the government said the decision to hire a private agency was the result of the pressure to get better scores.

“The best way to do that is to prepare documents on meeting the parameters. Hiring an agency is an easy way out, even if it costs money,” the source said.

A senior official said the private agency has brought in 12 personnel and their work was important to ensure that the work on the ground is recognised.

“There is a necessity for a project management unit. A professional agency is better suited to handle such projects. Apart from rectifying poor documentation, it can help streamline the process,” he said.

An expert who worked on SBM projects in Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh said the rankings were introduced with the idea of building a healthy competition among states, but documentation has taken primacy over real work in recent years.

“Except for some districts in the north, Karnataka is doing better than states that scored higher. The real solution to the problem is filling up vacancies and capacity building in north Karnataka. Nobody wants to face the challenges in districts like Raichur, Koppal and Kalaburagi, where efforts to bring in change have not succeeded,” he said.

Ramprasad V, another activist who has worked on solid waste management in Bengaluru, said the reliance on private companies rather than capacity building was not an ideal outcome for SBM.

“Spending crores of rupees on foreign consulting companies for providing documentation rather than focusing on real challenges will only defeat the purpose of SBM mission and lead to corporatisation of the programme,” he said, adding that the government should invest on capacity building at the local level.