Swachh Survekshan Awards 2023

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• What is Swachh Survekshan?
• What are the objectives of Swachh Survekshan? 
• Swachh Survekshan 2023
• Performance of cities in Swachh Surveskshan 2023
• Case study of Indore

Why in news?

• Surat in Gujarat and Indore in Madhya Pradesh were jointly declared cleanest cities of the country at the annual clean city awards 2023 of the Union Urban Affairs Ministry.
• This was for the seventh year in a row that Indore has been ranked as the cleanest city in India.

Swachh Survekshan

• It is an annual survey of cleanliness, hygiene and sanitation in cities and towns across India, launched as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (specifically under SBA-Urban).
• It was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) with Quality Council of India (QCI) as its implementation partner.
  • The SBA was launched (on 2nd October 2014) to make India clean and free of open defecation by 2nd October 2019.
  • The SBA was split into two - rural (SBA-Gramin, monitored by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation under the Ministry of Jal Shakti) and urban (SBA-Urban, overseen by the MoHUA).
  • SBM-U 2.0 was recently launched on 1st October, 2021, focused on ensuring complete access to sanitation facilities for all.
    • The vision of a Garbage Free India is an initiative under SBM-U 2.0.
• The first survey was undertaken in 2016 (covering 73 cities), which had grown to cover 4242 (by the 2020 survey).
  • The methodology for measuring cleanliness rests on two main criteria – citizen feedback and field assessment.

Objectives of Swachh Survekshan

Swachh Survekshan 2023

• The President Droupadi Murmu conferred Swachh Survekshan awards 2023 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi hosted by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
• The theme for the year 2023 was -“Waste to Wealth”.
  • For 2024, the theme is “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle”.

Performance of cities in Swachh Surveskshan 2023

• 
• The Mhow Cantonment Board in Madhya Pradesh was adjudged the cleanest cantonment board.
• Varanasi and Prayagraj, both in Uttar Pradesh, won the top two awards amongst the cleanest Ganga towns.
• Chandigarh walked away with the award for the Best Safaimitra Surakshit Sheher (safest city for sanitation workers).
• Twenty zonal awards were bestowed upon medium and small cities.

Case study of Indore

• When the Awards first began in 2016, Indore ranked at number 25. However, the city leapfrogged in the rankings in a year and has maintained its top position since then.
• Indore targeted the various indicators mapped in the survey early on.
• A slew of measures included changes to the sanitation and waste collection system, as well as popularising these initiatives among citizens to build better habits around sanitation.
• Segregation and disposal of waste
  • Terminating the private contract given for the collection and disposal of solid waste, Nagar Nigam took on this work and drew new strategies.
  • The routes of municipality garbage disposal vehicles were changed such that they directly collected waste — dry and wet separated — from the households.
    • In some instances, corporation workers refused to collect households’ garbage bags unless they had been segregated.
    • The wet waste was entirely converted into compost and sold by Indore municipality.
    • A new treatment plant was set up in 2016 at Devguradiya to tackle dry waste.
  • NGOs were also involved and went door-to-door to make people aware of handing over their garbage directly to the municipality vehicles, for a monthly charge for each household.
  • Indore also addressed the issue of legacy waste by clearing and treating of nearly 13 lakh metric tonnes of waste at the Devguradiya ground in just about six months.
    • For a five-star rating in Swachh Bharat, one of the criteria is that 75 per cent of the waste be treated at the dumping site.
• Installing new toilets, dustbins
  • The NGOs also did the groundwork for identifying areas in the city in need of urinals and toilets to tackle the challenge of open defecation.
  • Around 1,000 free dustbins were distributed to vehicle owners to encourage them to not throw waste out of windows.
• Building habits among citizens
  • Public officials held multiple meetings with citizens and administered the oath of cleanliness to lakhs of people.
  • Indore Municipality also issued spot fines from Rs 250 to Rs 500 against people spitting on roads, urinating in the open, or littering.
  • In order to give a message to habitual offenders, public shaming was used as a tool for deterrent.
    • Municipalities started publishing the names of such offenders in newspapers and broadcasting them over radio.

Q1) What is Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM-U) 2.0?

Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM-U) 2.0 is a five-year program that began on October 1, 2021. The program's goal is to make all cities garbage-free by 2026. SBM-U 2.0 is a continuation of the first phase of SBM-U, which was announced in the 2021-2022 budget. The program's focus is to sustain and accelerate the progress made in sanitation and solid waste management.

Q2) What is Quality Council of India (QCI)? 

The Quality Council of India (QCI) is an independent autonomous body of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It was established in 1996 as a national body for accreditation. QCI's mandate is to lead a nationwide quality movement in India through its various boards.

Source: Swachh Survekshan Awards 2023 | Surat, Indore are the cleanest cities | PIB | Indian Express