Indore was placed 25th when the Swachh Survekshan rating was first released. But a number of improvements in waste management and cleanliness, as well as improved public awareness, made it possible for it to become India’s cleanest city.

A cleanliness partner in Indore pushes a cart to gather trash on the side of the road.

Declared as India’s cleanest city for the seventh consecutive year under the Annual Swachh Survekshan Awards 2023 by the Central Government on Thursday (January 11).

Indore was placed 25th when the awards were first introduced in 2016. How could the city keep its top spot after making such a big change in only a single year? We’ll talk about the ranking’s determining elements as well as the responsible modifications made to the cleanliness system.

What does it mean to be ranked number one, first of all?

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs awards under the Swachh Bharat Mission. The two primary factors used to measure cleanliness are field evaluation and citizen input.

State governments are responsible for maintaining data on the Swachh Bharat Mission Management Information System (MIS), as they oversee cleanliness. Next, an evaluation is carried out for every region, encompassing the confirmation of citizen verification carried out in residential and commercial zones using the sample.

Citizens are questioned about garbage collection and how often it happens, and their answers are verified in accordance with their answers. In order to gather input, on-field evaluators randomly visit houses and stores. The evaluation criteria are subject to change according on the topics being polled. The audit plan, for instance, considers the kind of technical support given to sanitation personnel, if IDs have been given to people who pick up informal waste, whether PPE kits have been given out, etc

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The offering of plastic segregation and recycling services in Indore. (Image from Amit Chakravarty’s Express File)

What keeps Indore at the top of the list of cleanest cities?

The advisor for the Swachh Bharat initiative, Amit Dubey, works for the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC). He told PTI, “Indore has developed a permanent system for garbage collection, processing, and disposal.” This solid foundation is the basis for the city’s continuous achievement in the National Cleanliness Survey.”

Indore concentrated on a number of the survey’s initial indicators. Increasing public support for these measures, coupled with improvements to waste management and cleanliness, helped to foster better hygiene habits.

Waste Separation and Disposal: The municipal corporation created a new policy and terminated the commercial contract for the collection and disposal of solid waste. Dubey stated that “In Swachh Bharat, one criterion for a five-star rating is that 75% of waste should be disposed of at the dumping site.”

Read | The tale of two cities: How Indore cleaned up 1.3 million metric tons of rubbish in 100 acres in six months, and Chandigarh handled its waste

Ten 40 million rupee transfer stations were constructed as part of the Smart Cities Mission, SBM, and IMC property kitty to collect various waste types before disposing of them in a landfill. A new treatment plant was developed in Devguradia in 2016 to handle dry trash, while wet waste was entirely processed into compost and sold by the IMC.

Building New Restrooms and Dumping Grounds: Apart from addressing open defecation, attempts were made to pinpoint locations that needed dumping grounds and restrooms; this was also verified as part of the study.

According to Tagore, “For the provision of individual or community toilets, especially in areas near dirty settlements and railway lines, efforts were made to identify the number of individual houses, families, and their needs – which were constructed and are now being used.”

“One criterion is that 75% of waste should be disposed of at the dumping site for a five-star rating in Swachh Bharat,” Ashish Singh, the immediate past municipal commissioner of Indore, stated to The Indian Express in 2019.

Currently, the city gathers roughly 692 tons of wet garbage, 683 tons of dry waste, and 179 tons of plastic waste every day, divided into several categories.” Approximately 850 vehicles that have been properly developed are used for this purpose; each vehicle has a separate compartment for biodegradable products like sanitary napkins and diapers. Six categories are used to sort and collect the rubbish that is collected from residences at the doorstep.

The untreated residual garbage that had accumulated over years posed the next difficulty. In just six months, the Devguradia Maidan’s 1.3 million metric tons of garbage were cleaned and treated in order to meet the survey’s goals. “75% of waste should be disposed of at the dumping site is one criterion for a five-star rating in Swachh Bharat,” former Indore municipal commissioner Ashish Singh stated to The Indian Express in 2019.

A thoughtful attempt was made to identify regions in need of restrooms and dumping grounds once the separate trash collection started; this was also verified by the survey.

According to Tagore, “For the provision of individual or community toilets, especially in areas near dirty settlements and railway lines, efforts were made to identify the number of individual houses, families, and their needs – which were constructed and are now being used.”