In January 2025, Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) launched the toolkit for 9th edition of ‘Swachh Survekshan(SS)’, the world’s largest urban cleanliness survey, in its new version- simpler, sharper, systematic and all-inclusive.
- A special category- Super Swachh League (SSL) has been introduced for the year 2024, creating a separate league of cities performing well in cleanliness.
- SS which was initially launched by MoHUA in 2016 promotes urban sanitation improvement through citizen participation and 3rd party validation.
Key People: S. Katikithala, Secretary of MoHUA; Roopa Mishra, Managing Director (MD), Swachh Bharat Mission Urban (SBM-U); Principal Secretaries of Urban Development, State Mission Directors, Municipal Commissioners (MCs) representatives from various States and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and officials from the MoHUA were present at the event.
Key Features :
i.Cities have been classified into 5 population categories: Very Small(less than 20,000 population), Small (20,000- 50,000 population), Medium (50,000- 3lakh population), Big(3- 10 lakh population), and Medium-Plus(more than 10 lakh population).
- Each category will be examined based on population and parameters customised to its specific size and requirements.
- For each category, awards will be given to clean cities, thus making new SS inclusive.
ii.This year, the assessment will include Cleanliness Target Units (CTUs) and adopting Swabhav Swachhata Sanskar Swachhata(4S) (behavior change in daily lives).
iii.The assessment will focus on key parameters like: eliminating dark spots, visible cleanliness, setting up Reduce Reuse Recycle(RRR) Centres, and more.
- Also, school assessments have been introduced this year as part of SS, to foster the integration of swachhata values in educational institutions and inspire young minds to adopt cleanliness and sustainability.
iv.All indicators in the new SS toolkit have been organised into 10 buckets, with assessment parameters simplified for better understanding by the ULBs.
- These are: visible cleanliness; segregation, collection and transportation of waste; solid waste management; access to sanitation; used water management; mechanization of desludging services; advocacy for Swachhata; strengthening of eco-system & institutional parameters; overall welfare of sanitation workers and citizen feedback and grievance redressal.
v.The last and final phase of SS- Field Assessment for the 9th edition will start on February 15, 2025 and will be completed by the end of March 2025.
About Super Swachh League:
i.The cities who have been in the top 3 rankings for minimum 2 years in the last 3 years (2021-23) will be included in this league.
- Based on the above mentioned parameters, 12 cities have been included in the SSL.
- Also, top 3 ranking cities in each population category will be included in the league for the subsequent years.
ii.ULBs in SSL will be evaluated on additional aspirational indicators and are required to maintain a score of 85% or higher to retain their position.
iii.Cities which are included in the SSL are:
| Category | Selected City |
|---|---|
| Very Small Cities | Panchgani (Maharashtra), Patan (Gujarat) |
| Small Cities | Vita (Maharashtra), Saswad (Maharashtra) |
| Medium Cities | Ambikapur (Chhattisgarh), Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh, AP), New Delhi Municipal Council (Delhi) |
| Big Cities | Noida (Uttar Pradesh, UP), Chandigarh(Punjab). |
| Million Plus Cities | Navi Mumbai (Mumbai), Indore (Madhya Pradesh, MP) and Surat (Gujarat) |
About Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA):
Union Minister- Manohar Lal Khattar (Constituency- Karnal, Haryana)
Minister of State (MoS) – Tokhan Sahu (Constituency- Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh)
