Swachh Survekshan – UPSC Prelims

Swachh Survekshan is an annual survey of cleanliness, hygiene and sanitation in cities and towns across India.

It was launched as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, which aimed to make India clean and free of open defecation by 2nd October 2019.

The first survey was undertaken in 2016.

Conducted by:  Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) with Quality Council of India (QCI) as its implementation partner.

Parameters: The cities have been ranked based on three broad parameters: service level progress, citizen’s voice and certification.

Population above 1 lakh: Indore has been ranked the cleanest city in India for the fifth consecutive year. Surat and Vijayawada were ranked as the second and third-cleanest cities.

Population Below 1 lakh: Vita, Lonavala and Saswad all from Maharashtra, bagged the first, second and third positions respectively.

The Cleanest States with more than 100 urban local bodies (ULBs): Chhattisgarh retained the first position in the “cleanest state” title. Bihar was the worst performer in this category.

Cleanest state award in the less than 100 ULBs category: Jharkhand, was given the cleanest state in this category. This was followed by Haryana and Goa.

Best Cantonment: Ahmedabad Cantonment won the title of ‘India’s Cleanest Cantonment.