Why Bhopal Is Close, But Not Quite Number One: What Do Experts Think?

Bhopal, the city of lakes, has regained its lost momentum and is the second cleanest city with more than 10 lakh. Ahmedabad, Gujarat, has secured the first position in this category. Though Bhopal is the cleanest capital city.

In the Swachh Survekshan 2024, Bhopal scored 12,067 out of 12,500 points. The city got a full 1,200 points in the ODF++ (Open Defecation Free) and Water+ categories. A full 1,300 points for garbage-free city rating. With these points, the city has made its place in the Super Swachh League and has also received a 7-star ranking. 

Bhopal secured the second rank for two consecutive years in 2017 and 2018. In 2019, Bhopal's performance deteriorated, and it stood in the 19th position. Making a comeback in 2020, Bhopal climbed 12 places and achieved the seventh rank. In the 2021 survey, Bhopal also maintained the seventh position. In the 2022 survey, Bhopal's position improved, and it came to sixth place. At that time, Bhopal got 5 stars. In the 2023 survey, it was ranked fifth.

Reforming and Recycling

In the 2024 survey, Bhopal has jumped three places and regained its place at the second position. Bhopal improved waste processing and strengthened door-to-door garbage collection. Imtiaz Ali, managing director of Sarthak Society, said Bhopal benefited from 100 crore worth of infrastructure investment for the Global Investors Summit (GIS), held in February 2025. “Beautification work was done on the main roads. We have got marks for that. But Bhopal itself is a beautiful city, and certainly, the people of Bhopal have also given a lot of support,” he said.

Some beautification and tree plantation work was carried out in the city in January and February. Plants, grass, and flowers were planted all over the city. The walls of the streets were beautified with attractive paintings. The colourful view cutters were installed to cover the drains. 25 new fountains were installed in a few of the 14 city lakes. Proper markings and signboards have also been installed on the roads.

Apart from the beautification, the city has upgraded its sanitation infrastructure as well. For instance, five new state-of-the-art garbage transfer stations have been set up at approximately Rs 17.74 crore. At these stations, the waste is segregated and sent to the respective processing plants.

On the other side, a material recovery center at Adampur Cantonment is not fully operational yet. But special processing units have been started for plastic, thermocol, C&D debris (construction and demolition waste), and coconut waste. These units aim to significantly reduce the pressure on landfills and promote recycling. Imtiaz Ali said about the Bhopal Municipal Corporation's (BMC) efforts, “Bhopal has done many new experiments. Be it rendering plant, slaughter waste, thermocol utilization, or glass collection and disposal, innovations have been done to segregate every kind of waste adequately and dispose of it scientifically. BMC has benefited from it.”

For garbage collection capacity, 125 new CNG vehicles have been added, increasing the total to 700. The use of these CNG vehicles has reduced fuel costs and fuel-related pollution. Apart from this, two shredders and a litter-picking machine have also been added, which are capable of effectively disposing of bulky and micro waste.

Six new road-sweeping machines,  bringing the total number to 10, worth Rs 3 crore, have been added. Now, more areas of the city are being cleaned by machines, which has reduced the dust flying on the roads.

Important steps have also been taken in the field of bio-waste management in Bhopal. A dead animal incinerator and rendering plant have been started. Apart from this, the BMC collects garlands and flowers from temples and eventually composts them. During Ganesh Utsav and Nav Durga Utsav, garbage vehicles are run ward-wise, which ensures cleanliness even during the festive season.

There are 517 DTDC vehicles, 719 CNG vehicles, and 202 road-sweeping vehicles deployed in the city.  Through these vehicles, about 850 tons of dry and wet waste are produced in Bhopal daily. Out of this, about 450 tons of wet waste are collected door-to-door. Apart from this, 5 tons of sanitary waste, 52 tons of plastic waste, and about 1.5 tons of e-waste are generated daily. 

Several processing plants have been set up in a public-private partnership mode for the scientific disposal of waste. NTPC's torrefied charcoal plant is being set up in Bhopal, the second in the country after Varanasi. 

In an interesting experiment, garbage cafes have been opened at three places in the city, where people can give their household junk and get food of their choice or pickles, papad, cow craft products, clothes, or paper bags prepared by self-help groups. Garbage cafes operate through a special app, which makes them even more effective.

Apart from all this, attention has also been paid to the improvement of toilets and community facilities in Bhopal. 143 public toilets have been built in Bhopal to get rid of open defecation. Apart from this, there are also 62 community toilets. Special attention has been given to gender in these toilets. Keeping in mind the convenience of the third gender, there are special toilets along with waiting rooms in the old Bhopal.

How to Become Number One?

However, Bhopal's environmental activist Nitin Saxena is not satisfied. In a conversation with Ground Report, Nitin has raised questions on the condition of other lakes except Bhopal's Bada Talab (Upper Lake). He has raised questions about the opaque public feedback system. Nitin said, “I don't believe that the standards mentioned in this cleanliness survey have been followed.”

Talking about the public feedback system, Nitin said that in December last year, the administration had given an advertisement to send suggestions and objections. Nitin had sent his suggestions and objections regarding ODF and Water Plus, but he has not received any reply till now. Nitin later filed an RTI and asked what action they took on his objection(s). But they neither answered how many objections they received nor addressed my objection.

Raising questions about the city’s drainage system, Nitin said that there is waist-deep water at Arera Colony, Alpana Tiraha, where thousands of passengers come and go on platform six of Rani Kalmapati Railway Station every day. But on complaining, the BMC always says that the Railway Department is not cooperating with us.

This time, Ahmedabad is at the top position with only 12 points more. Bhopal's main problem is the Adampur Cantonment landfill site. The site has hindered the city’s progress. Ground Report has continuously reported on the mismanagement of the site. And frequent fires during the summer at the garbage dump site. Earlier, garbage was dumped in the Bhanpur landfill in Bhopal. In 2018, 1.5 lakh tonnes of garbage were dumped at the controversial landfill site Adampur. It has been dumped in a pit, and a mountain of waste is continuously forming there.

Bhopal's marks in garbage collection, 7-star rating, water+, and garbage processing are equal to Indore's. But 5% marks have been deducted in source segregation, and 0% marks have been received in remediation of the dump site. And, highlighting the lack of source segregation in Bhopal, Imtiaz says, “15-20% of the waste is such that the public does not give it after segregation. If we get the support of the public, then we will beat Indore as well.”

It is worth noting that Indore has a population of about 35 lakh, while Bhopal has 25 lakh. And Indore generates 1,192 tons of garbage every day, while Bhopal generates 800 tons. In Indore, garbage is separated from every household into six categories: wet, dry, plastic, chemical waste, and old electronic goods. But in Bhopal, only 20 to 30 percent of the garbage is separated properly. Indore is ahead in waste disposal as it has developed its landfill site (Devguradia), and garbage is not dumped at a new place. 

Innovation Initiatives of Other Cities that Bhopal can Adopt

Several innovative initiatives have been taken in other cities of the country as well. Surat has made fuel and reusable products from dry waste. It is used in cement and textile plants and has been adopted by industries in Rajasthan. Surat has also sold sewage-treated water to industries and earned Rs 140 crore in a year.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is being used to detect illegal waste dumping in Surat. Cattle have been fitted with RFID tags, and e-challans are sent if they stray in the city. A cooperative of waste pickers has been formed in Pune, which has led to door-to-door waste collection. A green ambulance has been launched in Visakhapatnam, which protects trees. Bhopal can improve its waste management even further by adopting these innovations.

Madhya Pradesh and Survey Results

The central state has performed well in the recently released 2024 survey. Indore has scored the highest 12080 points in cleanliness. Indore has topped the new Super Swachh League by becoming the cleanest city for the 8th consecutive time. Bhopal is in second place among cities with a population of more than 10 lakh. Ujjain and Budni of Sehore district have received awards in the Super Swachh League Cities league. Apart from this, Dewas has been ranked first among cities with a population of 50 thousand to 3 lakh. On the other hand, Shahganj, Jabalpur, and Gwalior of the state are also included in the list of excellent efforts in cleanliness.

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