Swachh Survekshan 2024–25: key takeaways
Evolution of the Survey
- From fewer than 100 cities in 2016 to over 4,500 urban centres in 2024–25.
- Hailed as the world’s largest cleanliness survey, spearheaded by SBM-Urban.
- Goes beyond awards—offers critical insights into urban governance, waste management, and citizen behaviour.
Evidence-Based Urban Sanitation Assessment
- Evaluates cities on 10 comprehensive parameters, such as:
- Waste segregation and disposal
- Sanitation worker welfare
- Grievance redressal mechanisms
- Involves third-party verification and feedback from 140 million citizens, ensuring reliability and transparency.
- Acts as a powerful planning and monitoring tool for policymakers.
Super Swachh League: A More Equitable Ranking System
- Introduced to prevent monopoly by recurring top performers like Indore and Navi Mumbai.
- Created space for other cities like Ahmedabad, Lucknow, and Bhopal to rise within their categories.
- Grouped cities into five population-based brackets, promoting inclusive and diverse participation.
- Odisha’s success reflects this: Bhubaneswar’s leap to 9th rank, and emergence of smaller cities like Aska and Chikiti.
Showcasing Innovation and Best Practices
- Cities are becoming laboratories of innovation:
- Indore: Six-way waste segregation
- Surat: Sewage treatment for revenue
- Pune: Ragpicker-led cooperatives
- Agra: Dumpsite conversion using bioremediation
- The survey serves as a repository of scalable models that can be adapted nationwide.
Cleanliness as an Economic and Cultural Imperative
- Greater focus on tourist hubs and cultural events (e.g., Prayagraj during Maha Kumbh).
- The 2025 theme, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (RRR), builds on the prior Waste to Wealth
- Clean environments can boost tourism, public health, and local economies—an untapped opportunity for India, which holds only 1.5% of global tourist arrivals.
Challenges That Persist
- Behavioural change around waste minimisation and recycling is still limited.
- Despite success in eliminating open defecation, consumerist habits and plastic use
- With 5 lakh tonnes of waste generated daily, much depends on:
- ULB capacity
- Efficient waste segregation and collection
- Effective plastic and e-waste management
The Road Ahead
- The focus should now shift from rankings to resilience.
- Cleanliness must be seen not just as a duty but as a civic virtue and economic opportunity.
- Success hinges on policy support, community involvement, and smart technology.
Conclusion
Swachh Survekshan 2024–25 tells a story of possibility and progress. It proves that with competition, innovation, data, and civic engagement, India’s cities can move from waste management to wealth creation—ensuring dignity, health, and sustainability for all.
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Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee
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