The field assessment for seventh consecutive edition of world’s largest urban cleanliness survey, Swachh Survekshan (SS), was launched on March 1, 2022, by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). Designed with ‘People First’ as its driving philosophy, Swachh Survekshan 2022 is curated towards capturing the initiatives of cities for the overall welfare and well-being of frontline sanitation workers.
As per reports, the survey will also give priority to the voices of senior citizens and young adults alike, and reinforce their participation towards upholding the cleanliness of urban India. The program was introduced in 2016 as a competitive framework to encourage cities to improve the status of urban sanitation while encouraging large scale citizen participation. It has led to a spirit of healthy competition among cities and towns of India.
The journey that started in 2016 with only 73 cities with million plus population, has grown manifold, with 434 cities in 2017, 4,203 cities in 2018, 4,237 cities in 2019, 4,242 cities in 2020 and 4,320 cities in 2021, including 62 Cantonment Boards. The ministry formally kicked off the program for 2022 survey on with around 3,000 assessors of the Assessment Agency ready to go on the field to assess the performance of cities.
The scope of the survey has been expanded to now cover 100 per cent wards for sampling, as compared to 40 per cent in previous years. In order to seamlessly carry out this ambitious exercise, and in 2022 will see a greater number of assessors than deployed last year for the on-field assessment.
Cities have been regularly filling in their data, updating their progress in the Swachhatam Portal MIS along with running several citizen centric campaigns in preparation.
This year’s Survekshan is special as it coincides with celebrations of the 75th year of India’s independence. In keeping with the theme and to pay tribute to the wisdom of the elderly, the program in 2022 will aim to capture feedback from senior citizens as an integral part of the survey. To ensure diversity of voices, officials will also reach out to young adults who are the future leaders of the country and the Swachhata movement.
Additionally, ULB has also joined hands with citizens to identify at least one Chauraha/Roundabout in their respective cities that can be thematically decorated to showcase the spirit of the glorious 75 years of India's independence.
This year another new indicator ‘Swachh Technology Challenge’, launched by MoHUA on 6th December 2021. As part of this challenge, individuals, organizations and start-ups submitted innovative solution under four thematic categories, like social inclusion, zero dump (solid waste management), plastic waste management and transparency through digital enablement, across all Urban Local Bodies.
Officials mentioned that the program, in 2022, is committed to creating a level playing field for smaller cities by introducing two population categories under 15000 and between 15000 to 25000. To further expand the Survekshan footprint, district rankings have been introduced for the first time.
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