Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has announced a major update to the Swachhata ranking system. Starting with the next round, cities that have previously been ranked number one will be placed in an elite “Golden City Club” category.He has also announced a major advancement in urban renewal.A total of 427 dumpsites covering 4,500 acres have been cleared and are now set to be redeveloped into thriving urban spaces. This transformative project not only addresses environmental concerns but also aims to enhance the livability and aesthetics of our cities.
Introducing the “Golden City Club” for Enhanced Urban Cleanliness Standards
In order to elevate urban cleanliness standards and recognize outstanding achievements in sanitation, the Indian government is set to introduce a new initiative known as the “Golden City Club.”Announced by Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, this initiative aims to create an exclusive category for cities that demonstrate exceptional cleanliness.
This initiative comes alongside the introduction of the Swabhav Swachhata Sanskaar Swachhata (4S) campaign, which is designed to further bolster efforts in maintaining urban cleanliness. The new Golden City Club aims to motivate cities across India to enhance their sanitation standards and compete for top positions in cleanliness rankings.
Indore’s consistent success in being ranked as India’s cleanest city is impressive, and this new category seems like a way to honor their achievement while also pushing other cities to strive for excellence. Following Indore, Surat is also excluded from the rankings since it has been giving a consistent performance and bagged the cleanest city award alongside Indore in 2023.
“This year, we’re rolling out a new strategy that will place cities consistently topping the charts into an exclusive category called the ‘Golden City Club,’” the Union Minister revealed.
“Indore has held the top position for several years now. Therefore, we’ve decided to create a new category, the ‘Golden City Club,’ for cities that consistently rank first. Going forward, the leading city will be placed in this category, and we’ll consider the next highest-ranked city for the Golden City Club, introducing a fresh level of competition among these cities. Also, if a golden city cease to remain golden in the future,it will lose its golden status and will be degraded to lower ranks.” he further added.
The minister also revealed plans to develop an online portal for tracking the progress of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). This initiative will be complemented by a major cleanliness drive scheduled to begin before the launch of the 4S campaign. As part of the drive, around 85,000 locations have been earmarked for thorough garbage removal and sanitation efforts.
The Jal Shakti Ministry is set to launch the 4S campaign, marking the 10th anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), from September 17 to October 2. This initiative aims to further enhance national cleanliness and sanitation efforts. Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized the significant improvements in cleanliness driven by government initiatives during his Independence Day speech, underscoring the ongoing progress.
The Union Minister, revealed that 427 waste dumping sites have been cleaned nationwide, liberating 4,500 acres of land
The Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs of India shared with the media that the nationwide garbage-free cities initiative launched in 2021 started with just 18 percent of solid waste being processed. Today, this percentage has surged to 73 percent, reflecting significant progress in waste management and urban sanitation.The Minister emphasized that 2,300 garbage dumping sites have been identified across India, with 427 already fully cleaned, freeing up 4,500 acres of land. He also assured that the remaining sites would be addressed and cleaned within the next two years, highlighting the government’s commitment to improving urban sanitation and waste management.
Khattar further emphasized the critical role of door-to-door waste collection in reducing the need for dump sites, revealing that 97 percent of urban wards now have these systems in place. He also highlighted the country’s progress towards creating garbage-free cities, noting that a significant portion of the cleaned land has been repurposed for development projects, including initiatives for generating electricity from waste and said that efforts are being made to ensure that no new dump sites are created as progress continues.
