Swachh Survekshan 2020: Indore Continues Its Winning Streak, Is India’s Cleanest City Again; Here’s The List Of Winners

New Delhi: Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri today announced Indore as India’s cleanest city followed by Surat and Navi Mumbai which are ranked second and third in cities with population above one lakh, in this year’s Swachh Survekshan. This is the fourth consecutive year in which Madhya Pradesh’s Indore has retained its number one rank.

Swachh Survekshan 2020: These are India’s cleanest cities

Also Read: Swachh Survekshan 2020: Hardeep Singh Puri Announces Winners, Follow The Highlights

Congratulating Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri added,

I have visited Indore many a times and I have seen how wonderful the city is and no doubt it comes always as No 1.

Heartiest congratulations!
Indore is India’s cleanest city 4th year in a row. The city & its people have shown exemplary dedication towards cleanliness. Congratulations to MP CM @ChouhanShivraj people, political leadership & Municipal Corporation for this superlative performance. pic.twitter.com/cg3DH6PnHM

— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) August 20, 2020

Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan added,

The success belongs to the people of Indore and all its authority and municipal corporation members. Madhya Pradesh will leave no stone unturned to fullfill the swachh dream of PM Modi and Indore will definitely continue to retain its crown of being India’s cleanest city.

Also Read: Swachh Survekshan 2020: Indore Is India’s Cleanest City Yet Again, Here’s Why

In a virtual event titled “Swachh Mahotsav”, organised by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, for category ‘population less than 1 lakh’, Maharashtra gains a hat-trick with Karad becoming India’s No 1 cleanest city followed by Saswad and Lonavala regions, which achieved second and third rank in the category for Swachh Survekshan 2020.

Swachh Surveksha 2020: Maharashtra gained a hattrick with all its three regions winning the title of India’s cleanest cities with less than 1 lakh population

In best-performing states and for category ‘Cleanest state of India with more than 100 Urban Local Bodies’, Chhattisgarh once again comes out as the winner followed by Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh at second and third positions respectively.

Swachh Survekshan 2020: These are cleanest states of India with more than 100 urban local bodies category

Talking about Chhattisgarh, Chief Minister Bhupesh Bhagel said,

Of the 129 awards being presented today, we are getting 14. I would like to congratulate everyone. We will try to keep up with this and achieve the first position next year as well.

Highlighting the waste to treasure strategy that Chhattisgarh has been following for the last few years, Chief Minister Bhupesh Bhagel added,

We are generating manure from waste, we have also started ‘gobar khareedi kendra’ wherein we sell cow dung and generate vermicompost and earn a livelihood out of it. Cow dung, if not treated right often, and leads to diseases, in order to change this, we started with the gobar kendras.

In Swachh Survekshan 2020, in the ‘Cleanest state of India with less than 100 Urban Local Bodies’ category, Jharkhand achieved the first rank, followed by Haryana and Uttarakhand, which got second and third rank respectively.

Swachh Survekshan 2020: These are cleanest states of India with less than 100 urban local bodies category

With the jump of 6 positions from 2019 Swachh Survekshan, Odisha is the fastest mover state in the category of more than 100 urban local bodies (ULBs). Whereas, with a jump of 25 ranks from 2019, Assam is the fastest mover in the category of less than 100 ULBs.

Congratulating Odisha for this success, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri added,

I think the good work you have done has reflected. You have jumped 6 positions, please keep up the good work. The competition on the top is always tight but that is what makes it even more satisfying when you break into it.

Other awards were taken by New Delhi Municipal Council, which became the cleanest capital city. Lucknow became India’s fastest mover capital city as it improved 95 positions from 2019 survey. 

In ‘India’s cleanest cantonment boards’ category – Jalandhar from Punjab gained the first spot. Last time, Jalandhar was at number 2 in the same category.

For category – ‘Best Ganga Town in India’ went to Varanasi. Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur was awarded rank 1 for most citizen participation for more than 1 lakh population and in the same category with a population less than 1 lakh, Nandpur from Uttrakhand gained the No 1 rank.

Swachh Survekshan 2020: Other Awards Categories

Following is the list of other top-performing cities:

• Cleanest megacity: Ahmedabad, Gujarat
• Best self-sustainability award in the megacity category: Bengaluru

For population 10-40 lakh population

• Cleanest city: Vijyawada, Andhra Pradesh
• Fastest mover City: Jodhpur, Rajasthan that jumped 140 positions since Swachh Survekshan 2019
• Best self-sustainable city: Rajkot, Gujarat

For Population 3-10 lakh

• Cleanest city: Mysuru, Karnataka
• Fastest mover city: Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh that jumped by 215 positions from Swachh Survekshan 2019
• Best self-sustainable city: Bhilai Nagar

The annual cleanliness survey that ranks India’s cities, towns and states based on sanitation, waste management and overall cleanliness quotient is in its fifth year. A total of 129 awards were handed out to the top-performing cities and states. Highlighting the benefits of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and how India’s biggest cleanliness drive has changed country’s swachh reality during the event, Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, Durga Shanker Mishra said,

India has achieved 100 per cent open defecation free (ODF) tag except for cities of West Bengal. We have also achieved 30 per cent ODF plus tag, which means total sanitation in terms of solid waste management, in addition, to open defecation free tag, around 11 per cent are ODF++ (which means total sanitation in terms of solid waste management, improved sewerage lines, stormwater drains and pucca cement roads, in addition, to open defecation free tag). Today, India’s state of Chhattisgarh is 100 per cent ODF++. Where we are today, it has all happened because Prime Minister Narendra Modi started the Swachh Bharat movement, which successfully became a jan andolan over these years.

Swachh Survekshan is cited as the world’s largest cleanliness survey by the government and this year a total of 4,242 cities, 62 Cantonment Boards and 92 Ganga Towns were assessed. This year, the format of the survey was tweaked to adopt a Swachh Survekshan League model, where instead of once in a year exercise of assessing the cities and states, the evaluation happened throughout the year and quarterly results put out.

Also Read: Swachh Survekshan 2020, Here Is How Cities Were Assessed This Year

Back in 2016, when Swachh Survekshan was initiated only 73 cities were assessed on their cleanliness quotient. In its second edition in 2017, Swachh Survekshan widened the coverage of the survey to 434 cities, with a population of one lakh and above. In the year 2018, the annual assessment widened the coverage to 4,203 cities, which was an almost 10-fold increase from the previous year’s survey. In its fourth year, the survey further increased its reach and covered around 40 crore people.

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. Only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene.