Kasauli lags in cleanliness, ranked 50th among 61 cantonments
From the cleanest hill station to attaining 50th rank among 61 cantonments nationally, Kasauli has fared abysmally poor on the Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 lagging far behind other towns like Jutog, Subathu and Dagshai in the ranking released last evening.
While Jutog was the cleanest cantonment town in the state, it attained the sixth rank nationally, Subathu finished 29th while Dagshai secured the 35th rank nationally.
Jutog town located in Shimla district secured an overall score of 3,798 as against Deolali which topped with 5,434 points. This score takes into account various parameters like open defecation free status, presence and cleanliness at public toilets, beautification, besides the citizen feedback as well as service level process.
Subathu logged an overall score of 1,918 as against 1,759 secured by Dagshai while Kasauli could only muster barely 1104 marks, reflecting its lackadaisical approach in implementing various cleanliness -related endeavours.
All three cantonment towns of Kasauli, Subathu and Dagshai could barely secure 200 out of 1,000 in the open defecation free-related criteria, indicating their lax approach in implementing this key initiative. It is aimed at ensuring access to sanitation and presence of fecal sludge treatment plant among other facilities for optimum disposal of sewage waste even as the state braces to be an ODF state.
A score of barely 122 points in Service-Level Progress (SLP) out of 3,000, Kasauli further reflected how it lagged behind in public service-related issues. This criteria takes into account data from self-assessment reports and verification of ODF status through field-based observation in the households and public places including schools, etc.
The scenario was far better in Dagshai where the SLP fetched 773 and Subathu where this score stood at 713 points. These towns have not been graded on the garbage-free city criteria.
Dismayed by the low ranking nationally, the Kasauli residents said it was appalling to acknowledge this fact. Devinder Gupta, a former member of the cantonment board said, “The cleanliness level has taken a sharp dip in Kasauli. A part of it is also attributed to the poor civic sense among the tourists who do not hesitate to litter the town especially during the weekends and in the peak tourist season.
Public opinion gathered via a mobile application and one-on-one interactions during the field survey conducted by the staff also helped to arrive at this ranking which have come as an eye opener for Kasauli which is popular for its scenic beauty and proximity to the plains.
Himachal Tribune