Ahmedabad has been named India’s cleanest big city in the Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 awards, underscoring the nation’s ongoing commitment to urban cleanliness through the Swachh Bharat Mission.
India’s Cleanest Cities Crowned
The latest Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 awards recently announced their results, with Ahmedabad proudly taking the title of the cleanest big city in India. It was followed by Bhopal and Lucknow among cities with populations of 10 lakh or more.
President Droupadi Murmu presented these prestigious awards at a ceremony in New Delhi. The survey, a key initiative under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, has significantly expanded since its inception in 2016, growing from just 73 cities to cover 4,589 cities this year.
Understanding Swachh Survekshan
The Swachh Survekshan survey aims to foster citizen engagement and raise awareness about the collective effort required to create cleaner urban environments. It operates as a vital component of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), pushing cities to improve their sanitation and waste management practices.
This 9th edition of the awards features a revamped format. A notable change addresses the dominance of certain cities, like Indore, which has held the ‘cleanest city’ title for seven consecutive years. To encourage new winners, a special “Super Swachh League” has been introduced.
New Era for City Rankings: The Super Swachh League
The Super Swachh League category now recognizes cities that have consistently ranked in the top three in previous years. This includes cleaning champions like Indore, Surat, and Navi Mumbai, allowing the general competition to open up for other cities to achieve top honors.
For the first time, cities were also classified into five distinct population-based categories. These range from “Very Small Cities” (under 20,000 population) to “Million Plus Cities” (over 10 lakh population), ensuring fair comparisons among urban centers of similar sizes.
The survey indicators have been simplified into ten comprehensive sections, covering all aspects of urban sanitation. There’s also a renewed focus on maintaining cleanliness standards in key public spaces, particularly tourist destinations and high-footfall areas.
Beyond Rankings: The ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ Vision
The 2024-25 Swachh Survekshan embraces the theme of ‘Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle’ (3R). This emphasizes minimizing waste by using fewer resources and repurposing materials, aligning with principles of a circular economy.
This focus is also in line with the Jaipur Declaration, adopted at the 12th Regional 3R and Circular Economy Forum in Asia and the Pacific. The declaration promotes a collaborative knowledge platform, ‘Cities Coalition for Circularity’ (C-3), to advance circularity across various waste streams.
The Umbrella of Swachh Bharat Mission
The Swachh Survekshan awards are a direct outcome of the broader Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), launched in 2014 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This ambitious national cleanliness drive was divided into SBM-Gramin (for villages) and SBM-Urban (for cities).
SBM’s initial primary goal was to achieve an “Open Defecation-Free” (ODF) India by October 2, 2019, through the construction of millions of toilets. Upon achieving widespread ODF status, the mission evolved.
In 2021, SBM-Urban 2.0 was launched, shifting focus to “garbage-free cities,” managing faecal sludge, plastic waste, and greywater. Similarly, SBM-Gramin Phase II aims to sustain ODF status and achieve “ODF Plus” by 2024-25, focusing on comprehensive solid and liquid waste management in villages.
- Ahmedabad is the cleanest big city in the Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 awards.
- The survey introduced a “Super Swachh League” for consistently top-performing cities like Indore and Surat.
- Cities are now categorized by five population groups, from very small to million-plus.
- The 2024-25 awards emphasize the ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ (3R) theme.
- Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) has evolved from ODF to “garbage-free cities” and comprehensive waste management.
The continuous evolution of Swachh Survekshan and the Swachh Bharat Mission highlights India’s sustained efforts to transform its urban and rural landscapes into cleaner, more sustainable environments for all.
