Swachh Shock: Why Madurai hit rock bottom
The temple city finds its image tarnished by overflowing bins, defunct composting units, locked public toilets, and mounting legacy waste.
The nationwide survey by the ministry of housing and urban affairs flagged multiple gaps in Madurai's sanitation ecosystem — from poor door-to-door waste collection and inefficient processing to broken toilets and stalled efforts to clear legacy waste. While the city did marginally better in maintaining residential areas, market streets, and water bodies, activists say these improvements are patchy and far from sustainable.
Insufficient workforce
Gaps in door-to-door collection continue to plague waste management. Residents and corporation councillors blame it on the mismatch between the growing population and stagnant sanitation workforce and infrastructure. K Selvi, coordinator of Naloor Vattam NGO, said the number of sanitary workers remained the same since the 2011 census. "Sometimes they come only once in four days and also collect commercial waste during duty hours," said Ward 94 councillor R Swetha.
Corporation officials say more secondary collection vehicles will be procured to bridge the transport gap from street bins to Vellaikal dumpyard. "The transition of solid waste management to private contractors has disrupted worker deployment. We are trying to address this," said a senior official.
Defunct MCCs
Only a fraction of Madurai's wet waste is being processed due to several micro composting centres (MCCs) being non-functional.
Out of 38 MCCs, most suffer from broken motors, lack of power supply, and poor maintenance. "On paper, 100-150 tonnes of wet waste is sent, but the actual processing is much lower," a senior corporation official said on condition of anonymity. To boost processing capacity, the corporation recently signed an MoU for setting up a 610t waste-to-energy plant.
"This will significantly improve our processing capability and also earn us revenue," said P Indira, city health officer.
Source segregation issues
Madurai currently operates only three material recovery facilities (MRFs) to handle recyclable dry waste, making source segregation a major hurdle. The corporation now plans to establish one MRF in each zone. "We're working on both awareness and infrastructure for improving segregation at the household level," said a senior official. However, low participation among residents and commercial vendors continues to hinder progress.
Locked public toilets
Public sanitation in high-footfall areas remains inadequate. In Mattuthavani flower and fruit markets, new toilets remain locked while open defecation persists. Women face acute challenges, with few usable facilities nearby. "Our new toilet has been locked for months, and the dump in the parking area hasn't been cleared in a week," said flower vendor P Marimuthu. Sanitary workers say they lack even basic tools and clean drinking water.
Commercial hubs like East Masi Street, home to over 3,000 shops, lack accessible public toilets. "The old toilet near Vilakkuthoon was demolished for beautification and never rebuilt," said S P Jayaprakasam of the TN Foodgrains Merchants Association. While the corporation aims to declare all 100 wards as Open Defecation Free Plus Plus (ODF++), several public toilets lack water or remain locked. Early morning open defecation continues along Vaigai river and other parts of the city.
Biomining Resumes
One area where the corporation made measurable progress is in legacy waste removal. After a brief pause, biomining of waste dumped for decades at Vellakkal yard resumed in Feb. "About 33% of legacy waste has been cleared. Two of the seven zones are fully remediated, and work on the third is ongoing," said a senior corporation official. A senior corporation official said there are a few issues in the Swachh ranking and they are planning to reapply through the directorate of municipal administration.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
6 days ago
- NDTV
"For The First Time, I Could...": Foreigner After Visiting India's Cleanest City
India has become an increasingly popular destination for foreign vloggers eager to explore its vibrant culture, rich heritage, and diverse landscapes. However, many tourists arrive with preconceived notions - one of the most common being India's struggle with cleanliness. Images of crowded streets, open dumping grounds, and pollution often dominate expectations, while the idea of a spotless, well-managed city rarely comes to mind. But for one foreign content creator, a visit to Indore completely changed that perception. After learning that Indore had been declared India's cleanest city, Instagram blogger Victoria decided to see it for herself. What she found left her pleasantly surprised. In her video, she highlighted Indore's remarkably clean streets and well-organised infrastructure. "After Delhi's heatwave, Indore felt fresh and green," she said. "For the first time in India, I could move around freely and safely," she added. Watch the video below: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Victoria (@ Social media users were quick to react with enthusiasm after seeing the blogger's video on Indore. In just a few hours, the video accumulated more than 63,000 views and over 2,200 likes. Notably, Indore retained the top position among the cleanest cities for the eighth time in a row, followed by Surat and Navi Mumbai in the government's annual cleanliness survey. In the category of 3-10 lakh population category, Noida emerged as the cleanest city, followed by Chandigarh and Mysore. This year's survey, the ninth edition of Swachh Survekshan, assessed over 4,500 cities using a rigorous framework of 10 parameters and 54 indicators, with a focus on sanitation, waste management, and service delivery. The overarching theme was 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle', reflecting the government's push for sustainable urban development. Indore's continued dominance earned it a place in the newly introduced Super Swachh League, a category created to recognise cities that have consistently ranked in the top three over the past three years and remain in the top 20 per cent of their population category.
Time of India
29-07-2025
- Time of India
Govt to develop 10 cities on Indore model for Swachh Survekshan
Bhopal: The state cabinet, chaired by CM Mohan Yadav, on Tuesday gave a nod to develop at least 10 cities in the state on the model of Indore for the upcoming Swachh Survekshan. Yadav also announced that a state-level event would be held on the occasion of Janmashtami. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The CM said to promote tourism investment, a Regional Tourism Conclave focused on wildlife and offbeat destinations was held in Rewa on July 26 and July 27. Over 80 leading tour operators participated in it. Major investors expressed interest in investing over Rs 3,000 crore in the Rewa and Shahdol divisions. Yadav said the Madhya Pradesh Travel Mart (MPTM) would be held in Bhopal from Oct 11 to 13, providing a platform for tourism stakeholders -- hotel and resort owners, transport operators, and travel agents -- to promote and discuss their tourism products. As part of the preparations for MPTM, regional tourism conclaves will be held in Gwalior on Aug 12–13, and Indore on Sept 20–21. He also said unique sites such as major waterfalls and Dharmrajeshwar in Mandsaur would be developed as tourist attractions.
Time of India
24-07-2025
- Time of India
Swachh Shock: Why Madurai hit rock bottom
Madurai: It's a paradox that stings. Madurai, an iconic heritage destination drawing more than 2.7 crore tourists annually, has found itself languishing at the bottom of Swachh Survekshan 2024–25 rankings. The temple city finds its image tarnished by overflowing bins, defunct composting units, locked public toilets, and mounting legacy waste. The nationwide survey by the ministry of housing and urban affairs flagged multiple gaps in Madurai's sanitation ecosystem — from poor door-to-door waste collection and inefficient processing to broken toilets and stalled efforts to clear legacy waste. While the city did marginally better in maintaining residential areas, market streets, and water bodies, activists say these improvements are patchy and far from sustainable. Insufficient workforce Gaps in door-to-door collection continue to plague waste management. Residents and corporation councillors blame it on the mismatch between the growing population and stagnant sanitation workforce and infrastructure. K Selvi, coordinator of Naloor Vattam NGO, said the number of sanitary workers remained the same since the 2011 census. "Sometimes they come only once in four days and also collect commercial waste during duty hours," said Ward 94 councillor R Swetha. Corporation officials say more secondary collection vehicles will be procured to bridge the transport gap from street bins to Vellaikal dumpyard. "The transition of solid waste management to private contractors has disrupted worker deployment. We are trying to address this," said a senior official. Defunct MCCs Only a fraction of Madurai's wet waste is being processed due to several micro composting centres (MCCs) being non-functional. Out of 38 MCCs, most suffer from broken motors, lack of power supply, and poor maintenance. "On paper, 100-150 tonnes of wet waste is sent, but the actual processing is much lower," a senior corporation official said on condition of anonymity. To boost processing capacity, the corporation recently signed an MoU for setting up a 610t waste-to-energy plant. "This will significantly improve our processing capability and also earn us revenue," said P Indira, city health officer. Source segregation issues Madurai currently operates only three material recovery facilities (MRFs) to handle recyclable dry waste, making source segregation a major hurdle. The corporation now plans to establish one MRF in each zone. "We're working on both awareness and infrastructure for improving segregation at the household level," said a senior official. However, low participation among residents and commercial vendors continues to hinder progress. Locked public toilets Public sanitation in high-footfall areas remains inadequate. In Mattuthavani flower and fruit markets, new toilets remain locked while open defecation persists. Women face acute challenges, with few usable facilities nearby. "Our new toilet has been locked for months, and the dump in the parking area hasn't been cleared in a week," said flower vendor P Marimuthu. Sanitary workers say they lack even basic tools and clean drinking water. Commercial hubs like East Masi Street, home to over 3,000 shops, lack accessible public toilets. "The old toilet near Vilakkuthoon was demolished for beautification and never rebuilt," said S P Jayaprakasam of the TN Foodgrains Merchants Association. While the corporation aims to declare all 100 wards as Open Defecation Free Plus Plus (ODF++), several public toilets lack water or remain locked. Early morning open defecation continues along Vaigai river and other parts of the city. Biomining Resumes One area where the corporation made measurable progress is in legacy waste removal. After a brief pause, biomining of waste dumped for decades at Vellakkal yard resumed in Feb. "About 33% of legacy waste has been cleared. Two of the seven zones are fully remediated, and work on the third is ongoing," said a senior corporation official. A senior corporation official said there are a few issues in the Swachh ranking and they are planning to reapply through the directorate of municipal administration.
