Swachh Survekshan 2023: Uttarakhand's Cleanliness Odyssey

About:

• Initiated in 2016 as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission to promote cleanliness and sanitation in urban areas.
• Annual survey ranks cities based on sanitation parameters such as waste collection, treatment, public toilet management, citizen participation, and innovation.
• Winning cities and states receive recognition and financial incentives for maintaining and improving sanitation standards.
• Survey relies on citizen feedback, encouraging public involvement, though ensuring equitable participation remains a challenge.

2024 Highlights:

• Surat (Gujarat) and Indore (Madhya Pradesh) jointly secured the top spot.
• Indore clinched the award for the seventh consecutive time, Surat improved its rank from second to first.
• Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh were lauded as the top three states for their comprehensive efforts in promoting cleanliness.
• The President highlighted the central theme for 2023, "Waste to Wealth."

Uttarakhand's Performance in Swachh Survekshan 2023

The latest edition of Swachh Survekshan, released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, provides insights into Uttarakhand's cleanliness performance. Let's delve into the specific statistics and rankings:

• Dehradun: Secured 68^th rank, improving from last year's rank of 69.
• Scored: 6,579 out of 9,500 and retained the cleanest city position in the state.
• Uttarakhand: Moved from 3^rd to 19^th position, amongst a total of 27 states.

Awards: The number of awards decreased from six to two. Dehradun received one in the “above one lakh population” category, and Muni Ki Reti received in the “under one lakh population” category.

Individual City Performance:

• Dehradun: Improved from 69^th to 68^th, securing the cleanest city position in the state
• Haridwar: Ranked 176^th
• Roorkee: Ranked 180^th
• Haldwani: Ranked 211^th
• Rishikesh: Ranked 304^th
• Kotdwar: Ranked 305^th
• Kashipur: Ranked 348^th
• Rudrapur: Notably, the worst-performing city, positioned at 417^th

Challenges & Concerns:

• Despite improvement in Dehradun's ranking, there are several areas that require improvement.
• Overall, the state's performance has declined, and there is an urgent need to address issues affecting cleanliness in various cities.

Public Feedback:

• Local residents and activists expressed disappointment in the cleanliness levels of cities like Rudrapur, emphasizing the need for improvement.
• Calls for following the example of cities such as Surat in transforming their image and cleaning up their act.

In Conclusion:

Swachh Survekshan 2023 for Uttarakhand reflects a mixed bag of achievements and challenges. While Dehradun maintains its cleanest city position and several other cities show commendable efforts, the overall state performance has seen a decline. The drop from the 3^rd to the 19^th position in the national rankings highlights a pressing need for intensified cleanliness initiatives.

The state's commitment to addressing identified challenges, especially waste segregation, processing capacities, and overall cleanliness status, is crucial. Uttarakhand, being a prominent tourist state, must leverage these survey insights to enhance public health, sanitation, and waste management systems. It is imperative for municipalities, authorities, and citizens to collaborate in transforming challenges into opportunities for creating a cleaner and healthier Uttarakhand. The Swachh Survekshan journey serves as a roadmap for continuous improvement, aligning with the national goal of a Swachh Bharat.