Cuttack, Feb. 17: Residents have blamed the civic body for the city's poor score in the recently-concluded Swachh Sarvekshan (cleanliness survey).

The city ranked 59 among 73 urban areas in the nation-wide survey that was conducted as part the Union urban development ministry's Swachh Bharat Mission.

The residents alleged that the Cuttack Municipal Corporation was not paying enough attention to the city's sanitation problems. It has always been a major issue in Cuttack, one of the oldest cities in the country.

In the wake of the Swachh Sarvekshan results, The Telegraph spoke to a cross-section of people and tried to understand how the city's sanitation scenario can be improved.

Former chairperson of Cuttack Municipal Corporation and former Parliamentarian Trilochan Kanungo said that the civic body's decision to outsource solid waste management had been a blunder.

"Despite the municipal corporation outsourcing the job to a private company about five years ago, there has been no change in the city's solid waste management scenario. This has been one of the major failures of the civic body in the recent past," he said.

In 2011, the civic body entrusted Hyderabad-based Ramky Enviro Engineers Limited with the job of collection and disposal of solid waste management in about 38 out of the total 59 wards in Cuttack.

The civic body had signed an agreement with Ramky in 2011 for systematic collection and disposal of solid waste. According to the agreement, Ramky charges Rs 1,764 for disposal of each metric tonne of garbage, while Cuttack generates 300 to 350 metric tonnes of waste every day. The charge, as part of the deal, also included cleaning of all drains on a daily basis, cutting bushes, clearing weeds and performing other cleanliness activities.

Apart from solid waste management, the company was also entrusted with the job of mechanised sweeping on 48 major roads in city at an estimated cost of Rs 60 crore a year.

"The civic body's lack of a mechanism for monitoring sanitation work is to be blamed for the poor sanitation scenario in various parts of the city," Kanungo said.

Many residents alleged that despite introduction of mechanical sweeping, waste lies strewn all over the major roads.

"There is a wide difference in sanitation work in various localities in the city. The civic body is only concerned about those who live in the upmarket areas. While posh areas, such as Cantonment Road, Kanika Chhak, Shelter Chhak and High Court zone, are always kept neat and clean, door-to-door waste collection and roadside garbage cleaning are irregular in most other areas," homemaker Janapriya Mohanty said.

"Slum development has been another major challenge for the civic body. The municipal corporation is also struggling to come up with adequate public and community toilets which are essential in maintaining sanitation and hygiene," said Bishwesar Dey, 82, a senior citizen.

Dey said that the 264 registered slums in Cuttack hardly had any toilets. "Open defecation is not only a major concern for the civic body, but it also poses a serious threat to the environment," he said.

Senior civic officials, however, claimed that they were planning to install 200 toilets in various areas of the city to check the practice of open defecation.

"We have roped in superstar Arindam as a brand ambassador for the Swachh Bharat Mission to create awareness among people and seek their co-operation in making the city clean," said municipal commissioner Gyana Das.