Even as the suspense continues over which city is labelled the cleanest city in India under the Swachh Survekshan survey, the government of India says that there is 100 per cent door-to-door waste collection being done in 51,734 wards, and the number of open defecation-free (ODF) cities and towns stands at 2,015.
The contest in the survey was among 73 cities in 2016. In this year's survey, 4,023 cities/towns were evaluated. The survey was conducted from January 4 to March 10.
The number of cities contesting for this survey, under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, has gone up from 434 in 2017.
The government's numbers are considered the most credible. Add to that the Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Puri telling the India Sanitation Conclave organised by FICCI in New Delhi on Thursday of progress made in sanitation. Puri declared that goal 6 of the Sustainable Development Goals, set out by the UN for 2030, will be achieved, “mainly through the collective efforts of all, which are effectively supplemented by the programmes like the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan being implemented by the government.”
Goal 6 says, “ensure access and sanitation for all.” As of March-end, around 47 lakh individual household toilets and 3.19 lakh public toilets have been built so far, making for progress in at least one part of the goal.
The conclave brought together private and public sector organisations for effective actions for sustainable intervention in the space of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).
Moving towards 100 per cent scientific solid waste management has been a key theme of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, a pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
