To encourage cities to improve the status of urban sanitation, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has followed an innovative approach and designed the ‘Swachh Survekshan’, a survey to evaluate and rank cities on various cleanliness parameters. The survey aims to encourage large scale citizen participation and create awareness amongst all sections of society about the importance of working together towards making towns and cities a better place to live. Additionally, the survey aims at fostering a spirit of healthy competition among towns and cities to improve their service delivery to citizens, in their journey towards becoming cleaner cities.
Till date, MoHUA has conducted 4 surveys – Swachh Survekshan-2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. It has been a remarkable experience to witness the scale of citizen participation in all the surveys, and the extent to which the survey has succeeded in positioning ‘swachhata’ as a concept to compete for, among ULBs.
Swachh Survekshan has served as the agent of change demonstrating massive potential of addressing challenges through unique interventions in urban governance. Today, it has created ample opportunities for different stakeholders and expanded the entire eco-system including ULB officials, Mayors, Ward Councillors, Self Help Groups, students, Resident Welfare Associations, SwachhaGrahis, Market traders Associations, Sports persons, film stars, business communities, religious leaders, doctors etc.
To maintain the momentum achieved by all ULBs and to sustain the progress made, the Ministry had decided to assess all ULBs on quarterly basis under ‘Swachh Survekshan League-2020’ (SSLeague-2020) which was launched on 6th June 2019.The quarterly assessments have commenced since then and ULBs have submitted their monthly progress for Q1 (Apr- Jun 2019) and Q2 (Jul-Sept 2019). In the ‘SS2020, indicators focusing on Service Level Progress, parameters pertaining to wastewater treatment and reuse, and faecal sludge management have been given special focus, which is also in line with the new Government’s priority areas of focus, namely ODF+ and ODF++ . The ULBs shall submit corresponding progress in Q3 ( Oct- Dec 2019) along with supporting documentation.
To assess the progress claimed by ULBs through Monthly MIS and to validate the indicators through Independent Validation, Direct Observations and Citizens feedback, an autonomous assessment agency will/shall be appointed to conduct the assessment.