Hardeep Singh Puri launches Swachh Survekshan 2020
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday launched the Swachh Survekshan 2020 (SS 2020), the fifth edition of the annual cleanliness survey conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
Alongside, the Swachh Survekshan 2020 Toolkit, SBM Water PLUS Protocol and Toolkit, Swachh Nagar – an integrated waste management app and AI enabled mSBM App were also launched, read an official statement.
The event was webcast live for states and cities to witness the launches from across the country. The event also saw the release of a special Swachh Survekhan theme song featuring Kangana Ranaut, singers Kailash Kher and Monali Thakur.
Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, MoHUA, VK Jindal, Joint Secretary and Mission Director and representatives from several urban local bodies were also present at the launch.
Speaking at the event, Puri said, “Earlier this year, we had launched Swachh Survekshan League 2020 (SS League 2020) with the objective of sustaining the on ground performance of cities along with continuous monitoring of service level performance on cleanliness.”
He added, “Today’s event for launching the Swachh Survekshan 2020, with field survey to be conducted in January 2020, is particularly significant since it gives us the opportunity to reaffirm once again our promise for a Clean, Garbage Free and Sanitary ‘New India’, by not only sustaining the gains that we have made under the SBM, but also by providing a roadmap to institutionalize the concept of total Swachhata among all our cities.”
The Swachh Survekshan 2020 Toolkit launched by the minister contains the detailed survey methodology and component indicators with scores to help cities to prepare themselves for the survey.
Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, MoHUA during his presentation on SS 2020 mentioned, “Every year, the Swachh Survekshan is redesigned innovatively, to ensure that the process becomes more and more robust, with focus on sustaining the changed behaviours.”
Moreover, in line with the focus on continuity and sustainability, a major focus of SS 2020 indicators, both for the quarterly and annual assessments – has been on complete faecal sludge management and waste water treatment, in line with the government’s promise made in its election manifesto, the statement read.
Reiterating its commitment to the cause, the Ministry also launched the Water PLUS Protocol and the accompanying Toolkit. Moving beyond ODF, ODF+ and ODF++, the Water PLUS protocol aims to provide a guideline for cities and towns to ensure that no untreated wastewater is released into the environment thereby enabling sustainability of the sanitation value chain, the statement added.
This is in line with the government’s focus on water conversation and reuse under the Jal Shakti Abhiyan and also aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals on clean water and sanitation. The toolkit provides the detailed SBM Water Plus protocol laid down by MoHUA, along with declaration formats to be obtained from various stakeholders, that wards/work circles (in case under jurisdiction of development authority) and cities are required to submit, as part of the SBM Water Plus declaration and certification process.
“SS 2020 will be conducted in January 2020. A major thrust of Swachh Survekshan has always been on citizen engagement, be it through citizen feedback or indicators involving citizen participation,” the statement read.
This year, the citizen-centric focus has been enhanced substantially through verification of the progress made by cities on Swachhata through direct responses from citizens. Continuing with its focus on providing integrated waste management solutions to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and citizens, MoHUA also launched the Swachh Nagar Mobile App, the statement added.
