The Azadi@75 Swachh Survekshan 2022 recently made headlines when Indore was crowned the cleanest city for the sixth consecutive year by the President. This competitive survey is a major initiative under the Swachh Bharat Mission- Urban 2.0. In addition to this, Indore also became India’s first 7-star Garbage Free city. Other cities like Surat, Bhopal, Mysuru, Navi Mumbai, Vishakhapatnam, and Tirupati achieved 5-star Garbage Free certifications.
About the Swachh Survekshan Awards
Since 2016, Swachh Survekshan has been globally recognized as the largest urban sanitation and cleanliness survey. It has enabled a healthy competition among towns and cities to enhance their service delivery to citizens, thus promoting cleaner urban living. The overarching goal of Swachh Survekshan is to inspire mass citizen participation and create awareness about the collective responsibility of making our cities better places to live in. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is the nodal ministry responsible for conducting this survey.
Key Highlights of Swachh Survekshan Awards 2022
In the category of cleanest city with a population of more than 1 lakh, Indore, famously known as the city of lakes and palaces, emerged victorious. Surat and Navi Mumbai followed suit, earning second and third place respectively. Among cities with a population of less than 1 lakh, Panchgani and Karad from Maharashtra secured the first and third positions while Patan from Chhattisgarh stood at the second spot. Haridwar in Uttarakhand was awarded the ‘Best Ganga Town’ among cities with a population of more than one lakh.
Shivamogga in Karnataka received the Fast Mover City Award. Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Maharashtra were deemed the cleanest states with over 100 Urban Local Bodies, while Tripura, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand emerged as the cleanest states with fewer than 100 Urban Local Bodies.
Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 (SBM-U 2.0)
Announced in Budget 2021-22, SBM-U 2.0 is an extension of its first phase. This mission aims for effective containment, transportation, and disposal of fecal sludge and septage from toilets. With a planned outlay of Rs. 1.41 lakh crore, the mission is set to be executed over five years from 2021-2026. Its objectives include source segregation of garbage, reduction in single-use plastic and air pollution, management of waste from construction, demolition activities, and bioremediation of all legacy dump sites. The mission underscores the need for treating all wastewater before discharging it into water bodies and prioritizes maximum reuse of resources.
