President Kovind to honour awardees of Swachh Survekshan on November 20

PTI, Nov 18, 2021, 4:13 PM IST

New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind will honour the awardees of ‘Swachh Survekshan 2021’ — the sixth edition of the annual cleanliness survey — on November 20, the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry said on Thursday.

In a statement, the ministry said that in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a garbage-free India under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, cities certified under the star rating protocol for garbage-free cities will also be awarded at the ceremony.

The ‘Swachh Amrit Mahotsav’ being organised on Saturday will also pay tribute to sanitation workers by recognising top performing cities under the ”Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge” earlier initiated by the ministry, it stated.

The ministry said that from surveying 73 major cities in 2016, the sixth edition of Swachh Survekshan covers 4,320 cities, making its the world’s largest urban cleanliness survey.

”The success of this year’s survey can be gauged through the unprecedented number of citizen feedback received this year — over 5 crore, a marked increase from last year’s 1.87 crore. The 2021 edition was conducted in record time of 28 days despite several on-ground challenges owing to the COVID pandemic,” according to the statement.

Talking about the ‘Swachh Survekshan 2021′, the ministry said that there have been significant on-ground improvements in performance of states and cities, as compared to the previous year.

For example, six states and six Union territories have shown overall improvement (ranging between five and 25 per cent) in their overall ground level performance over last year, it said, adding that more than 1,100 additional cities have started source segregation and nearly 1,800 additional urban local bodies have started extending welfare benefits to their sanitation workers.

”More than 1,500 additional urban local bodies have notified a ban on the use, sale and storage of non-biodegradable plastic bags. In all, more than 3,000 ULBs have notified this ban.

”All North East states have shown significant improvement in their citizens’ feedback, yet another testimony to how the mission is reaching out to every citizen, including in far flung areas,” the ministry said.

On October 1, Prime Minister Modi had launched the second phase of the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation, asserting that these missions were aimed at making the cities garbage free and water secure.

The ministry said that over the last seven years, the Swachh Bharat Mission has reached all corners of the country changing the lives of countless citizens with its ”people first” focus.

The mission has transformed the sanitation space in urban India by building over 70 lakh toilets, providing safe and dignified sanitation solutions for all. The Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban has prioritised the needs of women, transgender communities, and persons with disabilities (divyangs), the statement added.