Cleanest City in India

Swachh Survekshan is conducted every year in India. It is an annual survey that ranks the cities in India on the basis of cleanliness, sanitation and hygiene. It was introduced as part of the Swachh Barat Abhiyan that aims to make India clean and free from open defecation.

The list of top 10 cleanest cities in India in 2020.

1. Indore, Madhya Pradesh
2. Surat, Gujarat
3. Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra
4. Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh
5. Mysore, Karnataka
6. Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh
7. Ahmedabad, Gujarat
8. New Delhi
9. Chandrapur, Maharashtra
10. Khargone, Madhya Pradesh

1) Indore, Madhya Pradesh

The fifth edition of the Swachh Survekshan survey was conducted in 2020 in India. The city of Indore again occupied the first position and received the Swachh Survekshan Award in 2020 for being the cleanest city of India. It got this award for the fourth time in a row. Indore is the largest and the most populous city of Madhya Pradesh. It is located on the Malwa Plateau and got its name from Indreshwar Mahadev temple. It is 190 km far from Bhopal which is the capital of Madhya Pradesh. It is also one of the educational hubs in the country. It is home to both an IIT and an IIM.

Due to the similarity in the lifestyle of people of Indore and Mumbai, it is also called as Mini-Mumbai. The people of Indore are friendly, social and open-minded and live in harmony irrespective of their background, religion, caste, etc. If we talk about food Indore offers lots of famous food items. It is famous for poha and other famous dishes such as poha jalebi, dahi bada, khatta samosa, moong bhajiya, jaleba, dal bafla, sabudane ki khichdi, etc.

The Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) has played a vital role in making Indore the cleanest city of India. It has constructed toilets, started composting vegetable waste and implemented various strategies for sanitation and waste management. For example, it introduced the mobile garbage collection vans to collect the waste from the residential colonies and other areas. Compost pits have also been constructed at the vegetable markets to turn vegetable waste into manure. Waste segregation which was the main agenda of Swachh Bharat Mission is also followed on a large scale in the city. A large number of colour-coded dustbins to collect the dry and wet waste separately.

Indore Municipal Corporation has also started a Plastic Collection Centre to reduce the levels of plastic pollution. It also started campaigns to create awareness about waste management and sanitation such 'Roko-Toko' initiative in which the school children would beat metal boxes on seeing someone defecating in the open.

2) Surat, Gujarat

Surat is located in the western region of India in the state of Gujarat. It occupied the second position in the list of cleanest cities created by Swachh Survekshan survey in 2020. Surat is a port city in Gujarat which is also a diamond cutting hub and a textile hub. It is also known by multiple names such as 'the city of flyovers, the silk city, the diamond city, etc. It is also famous for its colonial heritage and exotic wildlife and is the city where the Britishers first landed in India.

Surat is believed to be the largest diamond manufacturing centre in the world. It has more than 5000 diamond manufacturing units. The city has a diverse art and culture and people of this city are very sober and friendly.

Surat, which was struck by plague in 1994 and due to this got the reputation of one of the dirtiest city in the country, has managed to become the second cleanest city in India in 2020. The combined effort of the health department and Municipal Corporation of Surat has helped the city in emerging as one of the cleanest cities in the country.

After the incidence of plague, the govt. took serious measures to clean the city. The city was divided into six zones and a commissioner was appointed for each zone. Different tasks were assigned to different officials such as solid waste management, field visits were made daily, and Grievance Redressal cards were issued to people to register complaints. The complaint was attended within 24 hours and the card was returned to the person. Roads were cleaned twice a day, private sweepers were hired, and private contractors were also assigned the task to collect, transport and dispose of the solid waste.

The city has also taken various initiatives such as 'the motto of 3Rs' that stands for Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. It involves door to door garbage collection, waste segregation at home, and waste treatment.

The plastic waste is recycled to produce crude oil and biofuel through pyrolysis technology. Construction waste is also treated and sewage water is used for gardening after treating. There are also many famous places to visit in Surat that add to the beauty of the city such as dutch garden, hajira village, ambika niketan temple, dandi, Sardar Patel museum, Surat Castle, etc.

3) Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra

Navi Mumbai occupied the third position in Swachh Survekshan survey conducted in 2020. It has improved its ranking from seventh in last year survey. It is a planned satellite city of Mumbai located on the west of Maharashtra in India. It was founded in 1971 to release the pressure from the Mumbai city and is divided into two parts; North Navi Mumbai and South Navi Mumbai.

To develop the Navi Mumbai, a public sector undertaking called CIDCO was set up. It has constructed roads, public spaces and railway stations and various other facilities in the city.

It is home to many educational institutes in the field of medical studies, engineering, interior designing and hotel management. Most of the multinational companies established their head offices in the Navi Mumbai which makes it a dynamic business hub. It is also home to various recreational and sports facilities like golf course, pandavkada waterfalls, central park, parsik hill, Wonder Park, belapur fort, karnala bird sanctuary including various shopping malls, and more. The city also has the best hospitals for its residents like Fortis Hiranandani, Apollo Hospital, and more.

How Navi Mumbai became India's Third Cleanest City in 2020

Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation has taken various measures and initiatives to make the city clean and beautiful such as:

• Availability of the required number of public and community toilets.
• Door-to-door waste collection, and treatment and management of waste
• Online Monitoring of waste collection in which the garbage collecting vehicles are provided with a QR code and their movement is tracked.
• The construction and demolition waste is recycled in the waste management plant where it is broken into small particles and used in the roads.
• E-waste management in which E-waster is collected separately and processed. It is also used to the beautification of the city. For example, 'the Swachh Survekshan 2020' that is displayed outside the NMMC office is made of chips of electronic devices.
• A dumbing ground in Navi Mumbai was converted into a Swachhta Park and a waste museum is also created here to educated people about types of wastes, their shelf life and management.
• Liquid Waste Management; there are many Sewage Treatment Plants (STPS) that work on the sequential batch reactor (SBR) technology to produce clean water.

4) Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh

Ambikapur is a small town in the state of Chhattisgarh. It became the fourth cleanest city in Swachchh Survekshan 2020. In 2019, it was at the second position. It is one of the oldest cities in Chhattisgarh. It was the princely state of Surguja during the colonial rule in India. The city got its name from Ambika, a Hindu goddess.

It is located at an altitude of around 600 meters from the sea level. The land of the city is mostly covered with hills and forests. The major food crops of this region are wheat, rice, and oilseeds. It also has various places of attraction such as Jogimara Caves, Rakasganda falls, Shivpuri Shiv temple, etc.

The city has taken various steps to maintain the cleanliness in the city some of which are mentioned below:

• The municipal corporation of Ambikapur introduced the first Garbage Café of India that provides food to the poor in return of plastic waste they collect and give to the corporation. This scheme says that 'garbage lao aur khana le jao'.
• It has used ICT (Information and Communications Technology) based monitoring mechanism that helps in tracking garbage points, collection and transport of waste, movement of the sanitation workers.
• It is able to execute 100 percent door-to-door waste collection and segregation.
• The wet waste is converted into compost that is used to produce cooking gas and dry waste like paper and plastic are recycled.
• The dumping grounds are converted into a sanitary park and roads have been built using the plastic waste.

5) Mysore, Karnataka

Mysore is a city in the state of Karnataka located in the southern part of India. It is situated at an altitude of around 700 metres from the sea level at the foothills of the Chamundi Hills. The city is famous for its silk, coffee and unique tradition of painting known as Mysore Painting.

Mysore occupied the fifth position as per the Swachchh Survekshan conducted in 2020 in India. It is also one of the popular tourist destinations in India. The main tourist attractions of the city include Mysore Palace, Mysore zoo, Brindavan gardens, Chamundi Hills, Karanji Lake, Shivanasamudra falls, etc.

How Mysore became India's fifth Cleanest City in Swachchh Survekshan 2020:

The measures taken by Mysore Municipal Corporation to make the city clean are as follows:

• Door to door domestic waste and garbage collection
• Availability of public toilets and clean them on a daily basis
• Segregation of dry and wet waste at the zero waste management plant
• Even before India got independence, all houses in the city were connected to an underground drainage system by 1910.
• Mysore City Corporation has adopted a public-private partnership (PPP) to set up waste management plants and other innovative measures.
• Municipal Corporation used GPS technology to track the movement of garbage collecting vehicles to ensure efficient waste management. A software is developed that will tell the vehicles the route and wards to be covered.
• MCC also asked religious institutions to encourage their followers to be a part of the cleanliness drive.

6) Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh

Vijayawada became the sixth cleanest city in India in Swachchh Survekshan 2020. It is located on the banks of Krishna River in the state of Andhra Pradesh. It is surrounded by the hills of Eastern Ghats and lies at the centre of Andhra Pradesh. Vijayawada is a major trading and business hub, so it is also known as the Business Capital of Andhra Pradesh.

The city is also regarded as a holy place as it is home to Kanka Durga Temple devoted to Hindu Goddess Durga. It is one of the most famous temples of Andhra Pradesh, India. The city also has various prominent educational institutes. So, it is also known as 'Vidyala wada' which means a place of education.

In 2018, Vijayawada was awarded ISO 37120 platinum level certification and was added to the 'Global Cities Registry.' As per the report published by Oxford Economics, it will emerge as 10^th fastest growing economy of India in the world by 2035. The city also has various tourist attractions such as Undavalli caves, Kondapalli fort, Subramanya Swamy, Bhavani Island, etc.

How Vijayawada became a sixth cleanest city in Swachchh Survekshan 2020:

Some of the strategies used by Vijayawada Municipal Corporation to make the city clean are as follows:

• Using modern machines for lifting garbage, cleaning roads and desiltation of the drainage system
• Best solid waste management practices including door-to-door waste collection and segregation of dry and wet waste
• Use of social media to spread awareness among the people such as to promote the use of cloth and jute bags, to avoid the use of single-use plastics
• Public health wing of the municipal corporation focused on cleanliness and hygiene around schools, colleges and encourage to stop littering on the streets and roadsides.
• Run school sanitation campaign to educate students to stop using single-use plastic (SUP)
• Meetings with the religious institutions and encouraged them to ask their devotees to avoid the use of single-u se-plastics

7) Ahmedabad, Gujarat

Ahmedabad is a famous city of Gujarat. It is situated on the banks of the Sabarmati River. The city is an industrial hub as well as an educational hotspot. It is also the former capital city of Gujarat. Ahmedabad became the seventh cleanest city in Swachchh Survekshan 2020.

Ahmedabad is a fully developed city that houses lots of malls, multiplexes, educational institutions, hospitals, multinational companies, and more. The city also has many lakes like Kankaria Lake, Vastrapur Lake, etc.

India's first revolving restaurant 'patang' is also located in Ahmedabad, which can be seen while passing from Ashram Road. There are also many famous gardens in the city such as Law garden, Victoria garden, Bal vatika. The world's first all-vegetarian PIZZA HUT was also introduced in Ahmedabad. Besides this, the city has various famous tourist spots such as Sabarmati Ashram, 600 years old mosque, lal Darwaja Market, Law Garden, Kite museum, and more.

How Ahmedabad became the seventh cleanest city in Swachchh Survekshan 2020:

Some of the strategies used by Vijayawada Municipal Corporation to make the city clean are as follows:

• Provision of clean and well maintained public toilets, urinals, throughout the city.
• Randomly checks the 10% cent of the toilets to check their status and working condition
• Door-to-door garbage collection, segregation of dry and wet waste and their processing
• To discourage the use of single use plastic
• Recycling of the waste and decomposing the green waste at the gardens itself
• Spreading awareness among the people about the benefits of cleanliness and hygiene

8) New Delhi

New Delhi is at the eighth position in the list of cleanest cities in India in 2020. It is the capital city of India. It is famous for its diverse culture and heritage. It is also home to major branches of the Govt. of India that include Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House and Supreme Court of India. The city was founded on 15 December 1911. It was planned by two famous British architectures named Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker.

The famous red fort where the prime minister of India unfurls flag on each Independence Day is also located in New Delhi. Besides this, in Old Delhi and Mehrauli areas, you can visit various heritage structures. The city also houses two UNESCO World Heritage Sites that include Humayun's Tomb and the Qutub Complex. The city is also home to reputed education institutes like IIT, JNU, and reputed hospitals. The well-maintained network of roads and facility of the metro made the travelling safe and comfortable in the city.

How Delhi became one of the top ten cleanest cities in Swachchh Survekshan 2020:

Some of the strategies used by NDMC to make the city clean are as follows:

• It carried out 100% door-to-door waste and garbage collection and recycling or processing of waste on a daily basis.
• The garbage is not transferred to landfills rather it is incinerated to produce power.
• The NDMC schools are provided with sanitary napkins vending machines.
• All the areas under NDMC have 100% connectivity.
• Solid waste management like management of industrial waste, bio-medical waste, and agricultural waste carried out.

9) Chandrapur, Maharashtra

Chandrapur city occupied the ninth position in the list of cleanest cities in India in 2020. It is located in the south-central region of the state of Maharashtra. Its population is around 3.7 lakhs and is around 150 km far from Nagpur. Its altitude from the sea level is around 190 meters. The terrain of the city is rich in coal.

Chandrapur is also known as a 'geological museum' owing to the presence of various rocks and fossils. Many Stone Age tools are found in this city that are displayed in the Rock Museum of Suresh Chopane, a researcher. The city also houses eighth-century caves engraved with Buddhist sculptures.

The tourist attractions around the Chandrapur city include Andhari Tiger Project and Tadoba National Park. Besides this, the city is home to Ramala Talav Garden for the people and Sri Mahakali and Jain temples as famous worship places.

How Chandrapur secured a place among the top 10 cleanest cities in Swachchh Survekshan 2020:

Some of the initiatives and measures taken by Chandrapur Municipal Corporation to make the city clean are as follows:

• Door to door garbage collection and segregation of dry and wet waste
• Management of solid waste like industrial waste, medical waste and electronic waste
• Discouraged the use of plastic and promoted recycling of plastic waste
• Treatment of sewage water, construction and demolition waste
• Availability of public toilets and urinals in the city
• Spread awareness about the health benefits of cleanliness and hygiene

10) Khargone, Madhya Pradesh

Khargone district is at number ten in the list of cleanest cities in India in 2020. It located in the south-west border of Madhya Pradesh. Its geographical area is 8030 sq. km. and its altitude from the sea level is 258 metres. In the north, it is bordered by Dhar, Indore and Dewas; in the south by Maharashtra; Burhanpur in the east and in the west by Barwani.

The city is located at the bank of Kunda River and is famous for the production of chilly and cotton. It also houses the famous Navgraha Mandir (temple) that is devoted to nav grahas (nine planets).

Khargone was awarded the national award for 'India's Fastest Moving City' under the population of two lakh. The major cash crops of Khargone District include soybean, chili pepper and cotton. It is one of the biggest cotton producing cities of India with a large number of cotton processing units such as Jawaharlal Nehru Sahakari Soot Mill.

How Khargone secured a place among the top 10 cleanest cities in Swachchh Survekshan 2020:

Some of the initiatives and measures taken by Khargone Municipal Corporation to make the city clean are as follows:

• Door to door collection of garbage and segregation of dry and wet waste
• Spread awareness to reduce the use of plastic and promote recycling of plastic waste
• Solid waste management like medical waste and electronic waste
• Management of construction and demolition waste
• Construction of public toilets and urinals in the city

Spread awareness about the cleanliness and hygiene