Swachh Survekshan Awards 2023

• 16 Jan 2024

Source: IE

Why in News?

The President of India conferred Swachh Survekshan Awards 2023 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi hosted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).

• Indore and Surat were jointly awarded the cleanest city title. Maharashtra secured the top position among states in the annual cleanliness rankings for urban areas.

What are the Major Highlights of Swachh Survekshan Awards 2023?

• About: Swachh Survekshan, conducted by the MoHUA since 2016, is the world’s largest urban sanitation and cleanliness survey.
  • It has been instrumental in fostering a spirit of healthy competition among towns and cities to improve their service delivery to citizens and towards creating cleaner cities.
  • It has evolved, covering an increasing number of cities each year. The 2023 round encompassed 4,416 urban local bodies, 61 cantonments, and 88 Ganga towns.
• Ranking of Cities: Indore has retained its cleanest city title for the 7^th consecutive year. Surat, consistently second behind Indore in recent years, claimed the top spot for the first time.
  • This year marked the first instance of two cities sharing the top prize in the annual awards since 2016.
  • Both cities achieved 100% door-to-door waste collection, 98% source segregation, and 100% remediation of dumpsites.
    • Navi Mumbai secured the third cleanest city position.
• Key Parameters in Evaluation: The Swachh Survekshan 2023 rankings considered various factors, including:
  • Door-to-door waste collection
  • Source segregation
  • Cleanliness of public areas
  • Clean water bodies
  • Citizens’ feedback on city cleanliness
• Cleanest State Award: Maharashtra claimed the cleanest state award with 89.24% door-to-door waste collection and 67.76% source segregation.
  • Madhya Pradesh secured the second position in state cleanliness rankings.
  • Bottom Five States: Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Nagaland, and Tripura were ranked as the bottom five states in cleanliness.
• Other Specialized Awards: Chandigarh received the Safaimitra Surakshit Shehar award for the city with the best safety standards for sanitation workers.
  • Varanasi was recognized as the cleanest Ganga town.
  • Sasvad in Maharashtra earned the cleanest city title among those with a population below 1 lakh.
  • Mhow Cantonment was declared the cleanest cantonment in the country.