Multistakeholder Involvement in Environmental Management
13
4
A City Cleans Up
The story of Surat’s transformation
The city of Surat is located in southern Gujarat, on the banks of the river Tapi. It is India’s
twelfth most-populous city. As in all cities, the rapid growth of population and
urbanization resulted in the growth of slums, garbage, and overflowing drains. The
situation would have been taken for granted had Surat not been struck by an outbreak of
pneumonic plague in September 1994.
The city, till then famous for its diamond merchants,
came into the news for the wrong reasons. The
plague became an issue of global concern. Close to
200 deaths were linked to the outbreak. The disease
created widespread panic and led to a mass exodus
from the city. Apart from the human tragedy, it was a
severe blow to not only Surat’s economy which
suffered a loss of several million rupees every day,
but also to the nation’s economy. The outbreak had
an impact on industrial production, tourism, export,
and many other areas.
International flights to
India were temporarily
suspended, and export
of food grains from
Surat was banned.
The precipitating factor for the outbreak of plague in Surat
was constant rain which lashed the city for more than two
months, and led to flooding and large-scale water-logging in
low-lying areas. The primary reason for this was the faulty
drainage system. Hundreds of cattle and other animals died
due to the flood and water-logging. The floods, in fact, only
brought to a crisis point the dangers inherent in inadequate
waste management systems.
In the face of the unprecedented crisis, the Surat Municipal
Corporation (SMC) immediately launched a seven-point
action plan for restoring normalcy at the earliest. This
involved the government, non-governmental agencies, civil
society, and the private sector working together. Doctors in
public and private hospitals joined hands with the civic
authorities. Top priority was given to the cleaning of dirt and
debris, disposal of carcasses accumulated due to the floods,
pumping of stagnant water, spraying of pesticides, and anti-
rodent operations.
Battle against Plague
Clean-up Act
Excellent Novel and Radical
(EXNORA), International began as a
club of citizens concerned about the
deteriorating cleanliness of the city of
Chennai in southern India.
One of the first initiatives undertaken
by EXNORA was to try and make the
streets of the city clean, and to create
civic and environmental awareness
among the citizens. Working in
collaboration with the Municipal
Corporation, they started their work at
Kamaraj Avenue, a residential
complex. Garbage was directly placed
in hydro-containers located at the end
of every street so that Corporation
workers could later mount them
directly on trucks. From there these
went to dumping sites. EXNORA also
worked with rag pickers, now officially
designated Street Beautifiers. A bank
loan helped EXNORA to buy tricycle
carts. The street beautifier would
come with the cart and collect the
garbage every morning, and thereafter
sweep the street. In return, every
household at Kamaraj Avenue
contributed a nominal amount per
month towards the salary of the street
beautifier. Based on this successful
experience with the Corporation,
EXNORA is using this model to
promote the idea of community
