Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Bihar are the worst performing states in Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, according to a survey while 61 per cent of its respondents said that cleanliness has improved in their neighbourhood in the last two years.

The survey conducted by LocalCircles, a citizen engagement platform, covered 60 cities, 19 states and 14 national polls to assess the impact of two years of Swachh Bharat.

In the state and city level surveys, citizens from Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have suggested a visible improvement of 30 per cent or more in cleanliness, while Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Bihar states were the worst performing with their residents saying they observed minimal or no impact.

Across the nation, only 9 per cent citizens feel that the improvement is more than 30 per cent and most suggesting a marginal improvement, according to the survey, which also said that 40 per cent citizens indicated that civic sense has improved in the last two years.

Things were not as positive on the public toilet front with only 20 per cent respondents suggesting that the availability of such toilets has improved in their city.

The biggest challenge, according to respondents, for Swachh Bharat Mission is municipal engagement, capability and delivery.

Only 18 per cent believe their municipality is engaged in driving cleanliness and civic sense awareness initiatives on the ground, while most felt it is critical that going forward, a special impetus is put upon upgrading and reforming the municipalities, the survey revealed.

Approximately 85 per cent of the respondents said it must be mandatory for every municipality to engage with citizens both online and offline to qualify for any further Swachh Bharat funds.

--IANS

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