Recently, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) launched the Swachh Survekshan 2020 report. As the world’s largest sanitation survey, this fifth edition of the annual cleanliness urban survey conducted by MoHUA offers a comprehensive look at the state of sanitation in India.
Ranking Shift and Population-Based Categories
This year, the Ministry departed from its prior method of releasing overall rankings. Instead, it introduced rankings based on the categorisation of cities by population. First introduced in 2019, these categories received an update in 2020 for more accurate groupings.
Major Categories and Rankings in Detail
For cities with populations exceeding 10 lakh, Indore secured the first rank for the fourth consecutive year. It was followed closely by Surat and Navi Mumbai. On the other end of the scale, Patna ranked the lowest, at 47.
In the category for cities with a population size between 1-10 lakh, Chhattisgarh’s Ambikapur emerged as the cleanest city in India. Mysore and New Delhi trailed close behind, while Bihar’s Gaya languished at the very bottom of the list, securing a rank of 382.
The cleanest city in the category for smaller cities, with less than 1 lakh residents, was Maharashtra-based Karad, followed by Sasvad and Lonavala.
Other Notable Rankings and Categories
Other categories included identifying the cleanest amongst the 46 Ganga towns, a category in which Varanasi emerged victorious. In the cantonment category, Jalandhar claimed the top spot. New Delhi earned the title of the cleanest capital city.
Out of states with over 100 urban local bodies or cities, Chhattisgarh was ranked cleanest, while Jharkhand cinched the title in states with less than 100 ULBs or cities.
Swachh Survekshan’s Evolving Framework and Impact
The dynamic nature of Swachh Survekshan’s framework is noteworthy. Initially established as merely a monitoring system, it has now become an implementation accelerator for the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U). The primary objective of SBM-U, launched in 2014, was to make urban India 100% Open Defecation Free (ODF) with 100% scientific solid waste management.
Over time, the impacts of this initiative have permeated several layers of society, affecting health, livelihoods, quality of life and behavioural patterns. These changes proved particularly instrumental in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Going forward, MoHUA is set to unveil the second phase of the SBM-U (SBM 2.0), set to extend until March 2021, to take the current targets further.
Forthcoming Initiatives and Recognition
To reward and foster continued progress, MoHUA introduced the Swachh Survekshan League in 2019. This quarterly cleanliness assessment of cities and towns incorporates results from three quarters into its final outcome, attributing a weightage of 25%.
The most recent edition of MoHUA’s annual survey, Swachh Survekshan 2021, presented a new performance category – the Prerak DAUUR Samman. This category includes a total of five subcategories; Divya (Platinum), Anupam (Gold), Ujjwal (Silver), Udit (Bronze) and Aarohi (Aspiring) created to encourage cities in their cleanliness efforts.
The Swachh Survekshan 2020 report thus serves as a testament to India’s commitment to sanitation, underlining the progress made and the long road ahead in the nation’s quest for cleanliness.
