Guntur secures top honours in Swachh Survekshan rankings
She congratulated the civic body for its exceptional performance, which placed Guntur among the 23 cities in India recognised as 'Super Swachh League Cities 2024–25.' Commissioner Puli Srinivasulu and Additional Commissioner Challa Obulesu presented the award and memento to the Collector at her camp office.
The Collector credited the achievement to the collective efforts of officials, public representatives, and sanitation workers. She expressed confidence that the recognition would further motivate the city to enhance sanitation and build a healthier urban environment.
Meanwhile, GMC Commissioner and Additional Commissioner appreciated the District Collector's role in helping Guntur secure national-level recognition under the One District One Product (ODOP) initiative for Guntur Sannam Mirchi.
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Once cities are positively stamped, they tend to stay in the aspirational course. Understood this way, the 78 Swachh awards given were not too many. Setting up the cleanest cities as mentors to the most underperforming ones could help in the proliferation of multiple good practices among urban local bodies (ULBs). While Indore is a veteran in segregating the last gram of waste into six buckets at source — dry, wet, domestic hazardous, plastic, sanitary and e-waste; Surat has been making good revenue by selling sewage-treated water. Pune's waste management is anchored on cooperatives formed by ragpickers. Visakhapatnam made an eco-park from remediated legacy waste site. Lucknow produced an iconic waste wonder park. The Kuberpur area in Agra, once a toxic dumpsite, transformed to 47 acres of green, by engaging bioremediation and biomining technologies. Tourist destinations and places of high footfall received special emphasis in the survey. 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While a universal resentment against open defecation has been achieved by SBM, a behaviour change movement fostering intolerance against waste and fighting against consumerism has been tough to initiate. As more cities get identified as hubs of growth, we must prioritise the management of 1.5 lakh tonnes of solid waste generated every day. A lot will depend on delivery at decentralised levels, especially by ULBs in enforcing segregation, collection, transport, and processing, including of the more challenging plastic and e-waste. The business of waste management in cities may look chaotic, but it remains possible. The rise of Surat from being a place of garbage three decades ago to the top place in the sanitation chart last year shows that this is a possibility in all cities in India. Akshay Rout, Former Director General, Swachh Bharat Mission.
