Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Sifting the pile: On inequity and Swachh cities

Sifting the pile: On inequity and Swachh cities

Rankings should force cities to get cleaner in the aggregate (in total; as a whole) and not hide inequity (unfairness, unjustness, one-sidedness, partisanship, bias, prejudice, discrimination)

In what is turning out to be a predictable sequence (अनुक्रम, आदेश) in the annual ‘Swachh Survekshan (स्वच्छ सर्वेक्षण)’ awards, Indore was ranked the cleanest city for the fifth year, followed by Surat and Vijayawada. Chhattisgarh was the cleanest State, for the third time, in the category of ‘States with more than 100 urban local bodies’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency, Varanasi, won for the cleanest ‘Ganga city’. The organiser, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, surveyed (assess, scrutinize, examine, inspect) 4,320 cities for nearly a month and solicited (माँगना, उकसाना, फँसाना) feedback from 4.2 crore people. The metrics (cities) were garbage disposal, open defecation (मलत्याग, शुद्धीकरण, शारीरिक अपशिष्ट का निर्वहन)-free ratings, functionality and maintenance of community toilets (सामुदायिक शौचालय) and safe management of faecal sludge (the semi-liquid mixture that contains both solid and liquid waste that accumulates in onsite sanitation systems (OSS) e.g. septic tanks). The ‘Survekshan’ awards have a wide range of categories that segregates cities based on (पर आधारित होना, निर्माण, रूप, स्थापित) their population. While they attempt to capture the diversity (विविधता, भिन्नता) of urban agglomerations (समूह, ढेर, संग्रह) on the other, it is hard to deflect (deviate, distract, turn aside, aver, sidetrack) criticism: every State has at least a few participants who will top one category or the other, thus making the process a giant (विशाल, एक बहुत बड़ा देश) appeasement (तुष्टीकरण, सुलह, शांति) scheme. Along with (के साथ) a category such as ‘States with over 100 urban local bodies (ULB),’ where Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh were ranked second and third, respectively, there was also a top ranker for ‘State with less than 100 ULBs’ where Jharkhand was judged the cleanest. Then there was a category for a ‘Ganga’ city and separate population-wise categories. This year there was a novel (उपन्यास, अनोखा, नया) ‘Prerak Daaur Samman’ that saw Indore, Surat, Navi Mumbai, New Delhi Municipal Council and Tirupati categorised (वर्गीकृत करना, वर्गीकृत, सूची) as ‘divya’ (platinum). They were assessed for solid waste management (waste management is the activities and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitoring and regulation of the waste management process). Unsurprisingly, these were entities that had already topped ranks in other categories.

Rankings serve two broad purposes: a publicity (प्रचार, जनता का ध्यान, सार्वजनिक सूचना) boost and recognition (realization, awareness, understanding, knowledge) for the other winners but also motivation to climb (rise, move up, go up) higher on the totem pole (hierarchy; ranking system; pecking order). Though the number of cities surveyed has increased since the first edition of the survey in 2016, it appears that the same cities — Indore, Surat, for instance (as an example) — keep topping the list. Six years is a good time to take stock (review, assess, weigh up, appraise, evaluate, look carefully at) of what the ranking programme intends to achieve: is it motivating cities to significantly (notably, importantly, crucially) allocate resources towards improving sanitation (it generally refers to the provision of facilities and services for the safe disposal of human urine and faeces)? Are cleaner cities cleaner because they are better positioned to access State funds and thus able to pull further away from other cities? Do States focus their energies and funds in keeping some cities clean to avail (use, utilize, take advantage of (an opportunity/resources)) of a rank in any of the wide number of categories? Reducing a metric (a standard of measurement) as complex as sanitation and cleanliness to blunt (weaken, reduce, soften) rankings can often induce (produce, bring about, cause) a false sense of progress. Both at the regional level and at the Centre there should be more qualitative (relating to the quality of something) analysis of whether India’s cities are getting cleaner in the aggregate or if numbers are hiding inequity.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.sift (verb)

Hindi Meaning - छान-बीन करना, जाँच कर निकालना
English Meaning - search through, look through, analyse, assess, review, examine, inspect, scrutinize.

2.sequence (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अनुक्रम, आदेश
English Meaning - order, pattern.

3.Swachh Survekshan (noun)

Hindi Meaning - स्वच्छ सर्वेक्षण
English Meaning - Swachh Survekshan is an annual survey of cleanliness, hygiene and sanitation in cities and towns across India. It was launched as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, which aimed to make India clean and free of open defecation by 2nd October 2019. The first survey was undertaken in 2016 and covered 73 cities; by 2020 the survey had grown to cover 4242 cities and was said to be the largest cleanliness survey in the world.

4.solicit (verb)

Hindi Meaning - माँगना, उकसाना, फँसाना
English Meaning - ask for, request, apply for, seek, call for.

5.defecation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मलत्याग, शुद्धीकरण, शारीरिक अपशिष्ट का निर्वहन
English Meaning - excretion, discharging faeces/stools/bodily waste.

6.community toilet (noun)

Hindi Meaning - सामुदायिक शौचालय
English Meaning - It is normally located in or near the community area and used by almost community members.

7.base on (phrasal verb)

Hindi Meaning - पर आधारित होना, निर्माण, रूप, स्थापित
English Meaning - use as a basis; found, construct, form, establish.

8.diversity (noun)

Hindi Meaning - विविधता, भिन्नता
English Meaning - existence/presence of different people (from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives ranging from race to age to gender to hometown to educational experience) within group; variety, variance, difference.

9.agglomeration (noun)

Hindi Meaning - समूह, ढेर, संग्रह
English Meaning - assemblage, cluster; accumulation.

10.giant (noun)

Hindi Meaning - विशाल, एक बहुत बड़ा देश
English Meaning - a very large country.

11.appeasement (noun)

Hindi Meaning - तुष्टीकरण, सुलह, शांति
English Meaning - conciliation, pacification, reconciliation; satisfaction, fulfilment.

12.along with (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - के साथ
English Meaning - together with, accompanying.

13.novel (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - उपन्यास, अनोखा, नया
English Meaning - new, different.

14.categorise (verb)

Hindi Meaning - वर्गीकृत करना, वर्गीकृत, सूची
English Meaning - classify, label, list.

15.publicity (noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्रचार, जनता का ध्यान, सार्वजनिक सूचना
English Meaning - public attention, public interest, public notice.

16.pile (noun)

English Meaning - a large amount of something.

17.inequity (noun)

English Meaning - unfairness, unjustness, one-sidedness, partisanship, bias, prejudice, discrimination.

18.swachh (noun/adjective)

English Meaning - Hindi word; clean.

19.in the aggregate (phrase)

English Meaning - in total; as a whole.

20.turn out (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - transpire, emerge, happen, develop (in a specific way).

21.survey (verb)

English Meaning - assess, scrutinize, examine, inspect.

22.metrics (noun)

English Meaning - measures of quantitative assessment used for comparing, and tracking performance.

23.‘Open Defecation Free’ (ODF) (noun)

English Meaning - a term used to describe communities that have shifted to using toilets instead of open defecation. Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) defined ODF as: ODF is the termination of faecal oral transmission, defined by: 1. No visible faeces found in the environment/village; and 2. every household as well as public/community institutions using safe technology option for disposal of faeces.

24.faecal sludge/septage (noun)

English Meaning - the semi-liquid mixture that contains both solid and liquid waste that accumulates in onsite sanitation systems (OSS) e.g. septic tanks.

25.segregate (noun)

English Meaning - separate, divide, set apart.

26.deflect (verb)

English Meaning - deviate, distract, turn aside, aver, sidetrack.

27.Prerak Daaur Samman (noun)

English Meaning - it is a new category of awards titled ‘Prerak Dauur Samman’ as part of Swachh Survekshan 2021. The Prerak Dauur Samman has a total of five additional sub- categories -Divya (Platinum), Anupam (Gold), Ujjwal (Silver), Udit (Bronze), Aarohi (Aspiring)Hindi Meaning - English Meaning - with top three cities being recognized in each.

28.waste management (noun)

English Meaning - waste management is the activities and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitoring and regulation of the waste management process.

29.unsurprisingly (adverb)

English Meaning - as expected.

30.recognition (noun)

English Meaning - realization, awareness, understanding, knowledge.

31.climb (verb)

English Meaning - rise, move up, go up.

32.totem pole (noun)

English Meaning - hierarchy; ranking system; pecking order.

33.for instance (phrase)

English Meaning - as an example.

34.take stock (phrase)

English Meaning - review, assess, weigh up, appraise, evaluate, look carefully at.