Swachh Survekshan Awards: MCD jumps 59 places, NDMC bags ‘Super Swachh League City Award'

Indian Express

3 days ago

In the latest edition of the Swachh Survekshan Awards, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) took significant leaps compared to last year, as both municipal bodies set their sights on bigger goals.
The MCD secured the 31st position in the 'Medium Cities' category in the ninth edition of the world's largest urban sanitation – it jumped 59 places in the survey compared to last year's ranking (90).
However, MCD Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh said efforts are being made to bag the first position next year, as he blamed the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government. 'We're not very happy since our Standing Committee could not be formed due to the AAP… as a result, the Capital was not cleared properly,' he said. The municipal corporation, one of the world's largest, has called for better firms to be hired to make the city clean.
Meanwhile, the NDMC bagged the 'Super Swachh League City Award' at the event held at Vigyan Bhawan on Thursday. The award, presented by President Droupadi Murmu and Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, was jointly received by Delhi Urban Development Minister Ashish Sood, NDMC Chairman Keshav Chandra, and NDMC Vice Chairman Kuljeet Singh Chahal, an official statement said.
The municipal council was recognised under the category of cities with a population between 50,000 and 3 lakh for its exemplary work in urban sanitation, waste management, and green initiatives, as per the NDMC statement.
'This achievement has been made possible with the tireless dedication of Swachhta Sevaks, Sanitation and Horticulture teams, Engineers Wings, PMU experts, planners, and the active participation of citizens,' the statement read.
'This award is a testament to NDMC's continued efforts to set benchmarks in cleanliness, service standards, and civic excellence. I congratulate our employees, especially our Safai Sevaks, whose relentless hard work has earned us this national recognition. Let us continue to strive for a cleaner, greener, and healthier New Delhi,' said Chahal.
In 2020, the NDMC was declared the 'Cleanest Capital City' among all states and union territories that were surveyed.
'This time, we focused on the creation of RRR centres (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) and waste segregation at the source. We ran campaigns for e-waste and construction and demolition waste,' an NDMC official said, adding that 28,000 students and 4,000 teachers of the corporation's schools were also involved in raising awareness to keep the environment clean. 'Community participation was a key factor.'
An annual exercise since 2016, the Swachh Survekshan is conducted by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) under the Swachh Bharat Mission Urban.
This year's edition saw participation from 4,589 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), a significant increase of 73 cities from the time when the survey was first launched.
The survey, for the first time this year, introduced a classification of cities into five population categories – Very Small Cities (less than 20,000), Small Cities (20,000-50,000), Medium Cities (50,000-3 lakh), Big Cities (3-10 lakh) and Million-Plus Cities (more than 10 lakh).
The theme was 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,' and emphasised waste management and sustainable sanitation practices.
According to the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry, 14 crore people participated in the survey through face-to-face interactions, the Swachhata and MyGov apps, and various social media platforms across more than 4,500 cities.