Bhubaneswar, Aug. 3: The municipal corporation is ready to take part in the third edition of Swachh Survekshan with the ministry of urban development starting the contest recently with a revised guideline.

According to the new guideline, the civic body will get extra marks if it can rope in more citizens for using the Union ministry's Swachhata App. The performance will be assessed taking into consideration the number of registrations made between March and November.

"We have received the guideline from the ministry earlier this month and instructed the participating urban local bodies, including the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), to ensure more registration on the Swachhata App meant to create awareness among the citizens on cleanliness aspects," said a housing and urban development department official.

The ministry has also revised another parameter of the national-level cleanliness survey. Now, 500 cities having more than one lakh population will get the national rank, while others will get the state rank.

This time, the ministry will assess a whopping 4,011 cities across the country. In the first edition in 2016, it had assessed 73 cities, and in the following one, 500 cities were assessed. In the first one, only Bhubaneswar and Cuttack had taken part from the state, while in the second one, a total of nine cities made their presence.

"We have got 24th rank in the first survey, competing with 73 cities. In the next one, we ranked 97th among 500 cities. We are improving. This time also, we are not going to leave any stone unturned to mark our national presence," said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena.

Sources said that like last year, the civic body was planning to take help of various social media platforms to ensure participation of the general public to improve its rank. It will sensitise them on voting and the use of the ministry's App as well as opting for civic senses by using waste bins and others.

"Social media platforms prove a bonanza to get more people participation. We are trying to use it extensively. It is more convenient and an easier way to reach out to the masses," said a civic body official.

Sailashree Vihar resident Rudraksh Sahoo said the city was improving in providing quality civic services, but it had a long way to go. "Now, I am finding toilets and dustbins at almost every places, but the use is very less. People still urinating in the open and dumping garbage besides the dustbins. They need to be sensitised, and otherwise penalised," he said.