Swachh Survekshan 2023 [Latest Survey Results]

The Swachh Survekshan is a report released by the Government of India as a part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A Swachh Survekshan report is released after a thorough survey to monitor the performance of each state in terms of sanitisation. In January 2024, the Swachh Survekshan 2023 report was released. In this article, you can get all the important details about the latest Swachh Survekshan survey report.

The Swachh Survekshan report and the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan are both important topics for candidates preparing for the upcoming IAS Exam. Questions based on the same may be asked in the upcoming UPSC CSE exam. 

Aspirants can get a detailed List of Government Schemes in India at the linked article. 

Swachh Survekshan Report 2023

The Swachh Survekshan 2024 report was released in January 2024. The important highlights of the report are mentioned below.

• The top spot for the cleanest city in the country was shared by two cities, Indore (which is bagging the spot for the sixth consecutive year) and Surat.
• In the category of cities with a population of less than 1 lakh, Sasvad, Patan and Lonavala secured the top three spots.
• The award for the Cleanest Cantonment Board went to Mhow Cantonment Board in Madhya Pradesh.
• Varanasi and Prayagraj won the top two awards for the Cleanest Ganga Towns.
• The top three spots for the best-performing states went to Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
• The Best Safaimitra Surakshit Sheher award was bagged by Chandigarh.

The zonal Clean City award winners are shown in the image below:

Image source: PIB

Swachh Survekshan 2022 (SS-2022)- Urban

• Swachh Survekshan Urban 2022 was launched by the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). It is the seventh consecutive edition of Swachh Survekshan (SS) and the world’s largest urban cleanliness survey conducted by Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) at New Delhi. 
• Swachh Survekshan 2022 is designed with the theme ‘People First’. It aims at capturing the initiatives of cities for the overall welfare and well-being of frontline sanitation workers. 
• It aims to capture feedback from senior citizens as an integral part of the survey. To ensure diversity of voices, SS 2022 will also reach out to young adults who are the future leaders of the country and the Swachhata movement.
• The survey is set to protect India’s ancient legacy and culture by nudging citizens to take ownership and initiative to clean urban India’s monuments and heritage spots.
• This year, Survekshan is committed to creating a level playing field for smaller cities by introducing two population categories under 15K and between 15-25K. 
• To further expand the Survekshan footprint, district rankings have been introduced for the first time.
• Along with SS 2022’s launch, MoHUA also released a coffee table book titled ‘A Change of Heart’ that features inspirational stories of individuals and communities and stands witness to the significant impact of people’s will and commitment to drive change in urban India’s cleanliness chapter. A short film, ‘Swachhata Se Samriddhi’ that showcases the milestones of the last seven years in the Swachhata journey was also released on the occasion.
• MoHUA also flagged off the field assessments for the Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge launched a year ago. Once again, the Challenge is another initiative by MoHUA to empower sewer and septic tank cleaners whose occupation consists of battling against several safety concerns on a daily basis.
•  Revamped version of the Swachhata App was launched on this day(28-09-2021).  It is a digital sanitation grievance redressal platform by MoHUA introduced in 2016. This new version will take citizen engagement to the next level by enabling people to identify yellow (public urination) spots, search for and rate the service levels in public toilets and validate their city’s progress in reducing garbage vulnerable points & access to public sanitation facilities.

Achievements of  Swachh Survekshan 

• It was introduced by MoHUA in 2016 to rank cities on cleanliness parameters in 73 cities and has become the world’s largest urban cleanliness survey that covers over 4,000 Urban Local Bodies(ULBs) today.
• The Survekshan framework has evolved with the years and has today become a unique management tool that accelerates ground-level implementation to achieve sanitation outcomes.
• The scope of the survey has been expanded to now cover 100% of wards for sampling, as compared to 40% in previous years.
• In keeping with the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of a Digital India, the upcoming edition of Survekshan shall usher in improved technological interventions such as digital tracking of documents, geo-tagging of sanitation and waste management of facilities for better efficiency, and QR code-based citizens’ feedback for increased people outreach.

Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2021

Also known as Rural Cleanliness Survey, Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2021 has been launched under Swachh Bharat Mission Phase-II. Earlier, it was launched in 2018 and 2019. Its prime objective is to focus on the acceleration of ODF plus interventions and results in the country.

• Under Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2021, 17475 villages in 698 Districts across the country will be covered.
• 87250 public spaces would be surveyed and around 1,74,750 Households would be interviewed for their feedback on Swachh Bharat Mission-related issues.
• Districts would be ranked based on different parameters. The element-wise allotment of weights is:
  • Direct Observation of sanitation at public places – 30%
  • Citizen’s Feedback, including feedback from common citizens, key influencers at the village level and from citizens online using a mobile App – 35%
  • Service Level Progress on sanitation-related parameters – 35%

About the Swachh Survekshan Report

Discussed below are a few important facts regarding the Swachh Survekshan Report:

• The report of Swachh Survekshan Urban is released by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA); Grameen (Rural) is released by Jal Shakti Ministry.
• It is one of the world’s largest sanitation surveys.
• The Swachh Survekshan Grameen reports were released in 2018 and 2019 while the Swachh Survekshan Urban report was started in 2016. 
• The first survey was undertaken in 2016 and covered 73 cities; by 2020 the survey had grown to cover 4242 cities and was said to be the largest cleanliness survey in the world. 
• The survey helps to scale up the coverage of the ranking exercise and encourages towns and cities to actively implement mission initiatives in a timely and innovative manner.
• The objective of the survey is to
  • Encourage large-scale citizen participation.
  • Ensure sustainability of initiatives taken towards garbage-free and open defecation-free cities.
  • Provide credible outcomes which would be validated by third-party certification.
  • Institutionalize existing systems through online processes and create awareness amongst all sections of society about the importance of working together towards making towns and cities more habitable and sustainable. 
  • Foster a spirit of healthy competition amongst towns and cities to improve their service delivery to citizens and move towards creating cleaner cities.
• MoHUA & QCI will conduct intensive virtual interactions with States and ULBs to familiarize them with various facets of the survey such as survey methodology, survey process and indicators, amongst others, while also clarifying their expectations from the survey.

About the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

Given below is information about the Swachh Bharat Mission in brief:

• The campaign was launched by PM Narendra Modi on 2nd October 2014 to honour Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of a Clean country
• The key objective of the mission is to spread awareness about sanitisation and cleanliness
• Increase construction of toilets, conduct awareness drives, make school children aware of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene

For detailed information about the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and its objectives, candidates can visit the linked article. 

Also read:

Swachh Survekshan Report 2020

Discussed below is the information as per the Swachh Survekshan Report 2020:

• In the category for a population with less than 1 lakh, Karad was named the cleanest city. It was followed by Sasvad and Lonavala
• Ambikapur was announced the cleanest city in the category for the population between 1 to 10 lakhs. Gaya was ranked at the bottom in this list
• In the category of cities with a population above 10 lakhs, Indore ranked first and Patna was at the bottom of the list
• Among the 46 Ganga towns, Varanasi was declared the cleanest
• Among Cantonments, Jalandhar was named the cleanest city
• Ahmedabad was announced the cleanest Megacity in India
• New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) was named the cleanest capital city
• Nagar Nigam Ludhiana, Punjab was named the Best Big City in Innovation and Best Practices
• Municipal Corporation Rajkot, Gujarat was named the Best Self Sustainable Big City

Aspirants prepping for the upcoming Civil Services Exam can check the detailed and comprehensive UPSC Syllabus for the prelims and mains examination at the linked article. 

For the latest exam updates, study material and preparation tips, candidates can turn to BYJU’S for expert assistance. 

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