Swachh Survekshan Awards, 2023
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- Context (IE): The President conferred the Swachh Survekshan Awards, 2023 in New Delhi.
- Indore and Surat were jointly awarded the title of the cleanest city.
- Indore achieved the top rank for the seventh consecutive time.
Swachh Survekshan Awards
- It is the world’s largest urban sanitation and cleanliness survey conducted annually.
- It was launched in 2016 as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (a nationwide cleanliness campaign).
- Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) with Quality Council of India (QCI) as its implementation partner.
- Objective: Encourage citizen participation & create awareness amongst all sections of society about the importance of working together towards making towns and cities better places to reside in.
- Theme of 2023: Waste to Wealth”; for 2024, the theme is: “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle”.
- Criteria for rankings:
- Door-to-door collection of waste,
- Segregation at source,
- Cleanliness of public areas,
- Clean water bodies,
- Citizens’ feedback regarding the cleanliness of their cities.
Swachh Survekshan Awards, 2023
What other Cities can learn from Indore?
Focus on sustainable sanitation systems
- Nagar Nigam took over the waste collection process, terminating the private contracts.
- NGOs created awareness about garbage disposal directly to municipality vehicles.
Handling Legacy Waste
- Clearing and treating nearly 13 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste in about six months.
Infrastructure Development
- Nagar Nigam started converting wet waste into compost and built a treatment plant for dry waste.
Addressing Open Defecation
- NGOs constructed single-household or community toilets in areas in need of urinals ad toilets.
- They also distributed 1,000 accessible dustbins to vehicle owners to discourage littering.
Community Engagement and Awareness
- Administering the cleanliness oath to over four lakh people.
- Issuance of spot fines against people spitting, urinating in public, or littering.
- Public shaming through the publication of offenders’ names in newspapers & broadcasting over radio.