The results of the Centre's cleanliness survey of 73 cities with a population over 10 lakh, which were announced on Monday by Union urban development minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, sent Jharkhand squirming, with its coal hub Dhanbad taking the last spot as the dirtiest Indian city and capital Ranchi and industrial capital Jamshedpur figuring among filthy tail-enders.

Swachh Sarvekshan 2016 ranks Mysore, Chandigarh and Tiruchirapalli as the cleanest cities in the country, but Jharkhand's trio is embarrassingly far from these toppers, with Ranchi ranked at 62, Jamshedpur at 66 and Dhanbad at 73 in the sanitation sweepstakes.

Hosting the survey in January, the assessors of Quality Council of India (QCI) aligned cleanliness parameters with objectives of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, putting the most importance on solid waste management at 60 per cent, followed by individual toilets (15 per cent), public or community toilets (15 per cent), city sanitation plans (5 per cent) and information, education and behaviour change communication (IEBC) activities taken up by local urban bodies (5 per cent).

Mango, Jugsalai and Adityapur (under Jamshedpur Urban Agglomeration) comprised areas surveyed in Jamshedpur while 55 wards under Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) figured for capital Ranchi and five zones of Sindri, Chatatand, Katras, Dhanbad and Jharia were assessed for Dhanbad.

On dismal rankings of the state's three big cities, the director of state urban development authority, who happens to be the mission director (Jharkhand) of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Rajesh Kumar Sharma admitted to lacunae solid waste management.

"This time, the bulk of the survey's weightage was on solid waste management. Unfortunately, the cities concerned didn't have a proper solid waste management system in place at that time," Sharma said.

But, sounding optimistic, he added they would be better prepared next year.

"We have spoken to Union urban development ministry, requesting for details of the survey so that we can zero in on our weaknesses and be better prepared for the survey next year. In Dhanbad, the detailed project report for solid waste management, prepared by Jinfra, is in its final stages. In Ranchi, the tender for solid waste management system is also in its final phases."

On Jamshedpur, he said: "Certain areas under Tata Steel lease have proper solid waste management system through Jusco but so far we are yet to find land for solid waste disposal in non-Tata Steel lease areas."

Reacting sharply to the bottom ranking, Dhanbad mayor Chandrashekhar Agarwal held public sector units (PSUs) and prominent intuitions of Dhanbad responsible for the mess.

"The reluctance of PSUs such as BCCL, ECL, SAIL, and central government institutions such as ISM and CIMFR to pay property tax puts the municipal corporation in a perpetually cash-starved situation," the mayor said.

"We need around Rs 40 crore a year to invest on cleanliness and sanitation work, but all these big names which are sitting on 80 per cent of Dhanbad's land are not paying property tax for which we have sent them several notices during the six months," the mayor added.

However, Agarwal, who also said he had launched a cleanliness drive recently, also expressed the hope of a cleaner Dhanbad in the near future with upcoming projects in solid waste management and waste recycling.