Swachh Survekshan 2020 Results: Jharkhand Is India’s Cleanest Small State, Four Cities Also Get Awarded

New Delhi: In the fifth edition of what is claimed to be the world’s largest cleanliness survey – Swachh Survekshan 2020, Jharkhand topped the charts and got the award for the ‘Best Performing State’ in the category of states having less than 100 ULBs (Urban Local Bodies). In Swachh Survekshan 2018 also Jharkhand had topped the charts and was titled as ‘India’s Best Performing State’. But, in Swachh Survekshan 2019, Jharkhand was declared as the second best-performing state as Chhattisgarh climbed up to the top spot.

Also Read: Swachh Survekshan 2020 Results: Indore Is India’s Cleanest City And Chhattisgarh The Cleanest State, Follow The Highlights

In a virtual event titled ‘Swachh Mahotsav’, the performance of Jharkhand’s cities were recognised in various categories. Jamshedpur was awarded the ‘Best City in Citizen Feedback’ category for cities with population 3-10 Lakh. Madhupur and Khunti were also declared ‘Best City in Citizen Feedback’ in the East Zone category of cities with a population of 50,000 to 1 lakh and 25,000 to 50,000, respectively. Jharkhand’s Jugsalai received the award for ‘Best City in Innovation and Best Practices’ in the East Zone in cities with population 25,000 to 50,000 category.

According to Amit Kumar, Director, State Urban Development, Jharkhand, the awards and the recognition is the result of creating ODF (open defecation free) communities, providing better access to public and community toilets and gathering citizens’ feedback through Swachhata App.

Also Read: Swachh Survekshan 2020: Gujarat’s Surat Is India’s Second Cleanest City, Here’s A Lowdown Of All the Things Done Right

When Swachh Bharat Mission was initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he stressed on creating a Jan Andolan (people’s movement). Taking that into account we ensured people participate in not only making the state clean but also give their feedback in Swachh Survekshan 2020. Citizens were encouraged to actively participate in the activities of the mission. Grievance redressal is being carried out successfully through Swachhata app in all ULBs, said Mr Kumar.

Jharkhand Moves From ODF To ODF Plus Plus

The urban areas of the state were declared ODF back in October 2, 2017; that year, the state focused on increasing the number of ODF plus and ODF plus plus ULBs (Urban Local Bodies). ODF plus and ODF plus plus is an extension of the government’s ODF programme. Together they focus on solid waste management, improved sewerage lines, storm water drains and pucca cement roads, in addition, to the ODF tag.

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

Since 2014, the state has constructed 590 community toilets having 5,196 seats; installed 320 units of modular community toilets with 640 seats; installed 308 modular urinal units. Talking about the state’s ODF status, Mr Kumar said,

39 cities of the state have attained the ODF plus tag and two cities – Jamshedpur and Sahibganj – were made ODF plus plus. Going forward, the focus is on ensuring all ULBs become ODF plus plus. Special attention is being paid to the cleanliness, operation and management of community and public toilets.

Waste Management For The Win

Jharkhand generates 1,846 tonnes of waste per day. Of this, 1,033 tonnes is wet waste that includes food and vegetable waste and 813 is dry waste including paper, plastic, metal, glass, among others. According to the official data, 1,667 tonnes of waste is collected on a regular basis. While 1,181 tonnes of waste is treated, 486 tonnes is dumped in a landfill.

Elaborating on the wet waste management process, Mr Kumar said,

Cities have waste to compost plants of capacity ranging from 25 TPD (tonnes per day) to 150 TPD. ULBs practise vermi composting as well. Along with this, onsite composting is done by bulk waste generators and households.

Also Read: Swachh Survekshan 2020: Maharashtra’s Cleanliness Hat-trick, Secures Most Awards For Third Year In A Row

For the treatment of dry waste, municipal corporations across the state have installed reverse vending machines which take in a plastic bottle and doles out some sort of goodies or incentives for the user, material recovery facility, and tied UP with recyclers. Non-recyclable waste is handed over to cement industries for the purpose of processing.

For better performance in Swachh Survekshan 2020, door-to-door waste collection of waste was ensured in all cities of the state. Special attention was and is being paid to cleanliness of small towns, said Mr Kumar.

Under the star rating assessment for the year 2019-2020, Jharkhand’s Jamshedpur was declared as 3 star garbage-free city. The Star Rating Protocol for Garbage Free Cities was developed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in January 2018 to institutionalise a mechanism for cities to achieve Garbage Free status, and to motivate cities to achieve higher degrees of cleanliness.

Talking about the waste management in Jamshedpur, Rupal Poddar who lives in the Tata Steel area of the city said,

My family lives in quarters provided by Tata Steel and our area is managed pretty well by Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company Limited (JUSCO). JUSCO has provided three buckets – small red, small green and a big green bucket to each quarter. Red bucket is for wet waste, green is for dry waste and the other big green bucket is for collecting fallen leaves. Quarters have a high green cover which is directly related to high yard waste so a separate bucket is required. One can clearly see the difference in the levels of cleanliness in Tata Steel and non-Tata Steel operated areas.

Also Read: Swachh Survekshan 2020 Results: With Prime Focus On Waste Management, New Delhi Municipal Council Becomes The ‘Cleanest Capital City’

Amid the pandemic, special attention is being paid to bio-medical waste management for that Common Biomedical Waste Treatment Facilities (CBWTF) are tagged with hospitals, isolation and quarantine centres. This means the bio-medical waste directly goes to treatment facilities.

Patients in home isolation are provided yellow bag to collect their bio-medical waste separately and hand over the same to the waste collector, said Mr Kumar.

Jugsalai’s Tea Composting Makes News

Composting of waste tea leaves helped Jugsalai get the award for ‘Best City in Innovation and Best Practices’. The idea of composting waste tea leaves was conceived last year by Soni Kumari, Information, Education and Communication cum Sanitation Expert and consultant to Jugsalai Municipal Corporation. Sharing the thought behind the idea, Ms Kumari said,

Jugsalai is a very small city, with a population of 50,000 people and the concept of chaupal (meeting place) still exists here. Generally, Indians are addicted to tea and I saw the same thing in Jugsalai – elderly gathering at a tea shop, sipping tea and discussing politics, entertainment and other things. One day, while coming to the office, I casually asked a tea shop owner, ‘how much tea leaf waste do you generate?’ and he said four to five kgs. If there are more than 20 shops in a city then this is a considerable amount.

Being well aware of the benefits of tea leaves for flowering plants and kitchen garden Ms Kumari decided to take benefit of this kitchen waste. Soon tea shop owners were convinced to collect tea waste separately and self-help groups were roped in to generate compost using this waste.

Also Read: Swachh Survekshan 2020: Maharashtra’s Navi Mumbai Is India’s Third Cleanest City. Here’s How The City Achieved The Title

50 kgs of tea waste is collected every month. SHGs mix this with other kinds of wet waste and generate compost which is then sold to the citizens at a price of Rs. 20 per kg, said Ms Kumari.

The project was initiated in November 2019 and was getting support and participation from local tea vendors but then the outbreak of Novel Coronavirus led to closure of local shops and brought the project to a standstill. However, now, with the phased re-opening of the country after COVID-19 induced lockdown, the municipal corporation is planning to restart the project.

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

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.