Navi Mumbai ranks among India’s cleanest cities through effective waste management. (AI image)
Navi Mumbai has ranked among the top 10 cities in the nationwide cleanliness competition over the past decade. Forest minister Ganesh Naik said, “I have seen the city grow from marshy land to a metropolitan city with a population over 15 lakh. Stay updated with the latest Navi Mumbai news.
We are good at waste management, tertiary water use, textile recycling which made us stand out in the competition,” said NMMC commissioner Kailas Shinde. Long-time residents said Cidco, the city planner, had laid the foundation for a planned city with extensive greenery, wide roads, footpaths, gardens, playgrounds and holding ponds to mitigate flooding. The city has a lot of green spaces, wide roads, uninterrupted water supply and timely domestic waste collections making it a liveable place,” said long-time resident Santosh Shinde. Activist B N Kumar, however, said the ranking should not distract the administration from the city’s environmental problems. A cleanliness ranking must not become a smokescreen for the city’s growing environmental and public health concerns,” he said.
Navi Mumbai’s rise to the top of the country’s cleanliness rankings has been years in the making, with civic officials attributing the achievement to sustained work by sanitation staff, better waste management and citizen participation. The city has also benefited from Cidco’s original planning, which provided wide roads, green spaces, gardens and holding ponds. Over the years, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has built on that foundation with initiatives ranging from textile recycling and wastewater reuse to turning an old dumping ground into an urban forest. This year, it secured first place among India’s cleanest cities. It also retained the highest seven-star rating for a garbage-free city and the highest Water Plus rating in the Open Defecation Free category. “We have improved over the years and all my predecessors contributed their share to see the city on the top. Citizens’ participation has been a big boost for the award. NMMC has maintained these features despite the city’s population growing manifold over the past three decades. “Cidco’s meticulous planning while creating Navi Mumbai has helped the civic body reap positive results now. Join conversation Share your thoughts in the comments Be respectful · TOI community guidelines The city attained first place among clean cities and maintained high ratings in various categories. Whatever we promised to the people of this city has been delivered which is why Navi Mumbai stands out as compared to neighbouring cities. “The administration and elected representatives should not rest on these laurels but to urgently address the city’s deteriorating AQI, unchecked pollution in the name of development and reckless redevelopment. Download the TOI App.
Last year, it entered the Super Swachh League, an elite category for the country’s best-performing clean cities with a million-plus population.
