SWACHH SURVEKSHAN 2024–25: CLEANLIEST CITY RANKINGS

CURRENT CONTEXT : The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has released the results of Swachh Survekshan 2024–25, India’s annual cleanliness survey under the Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban (SBM–U).

HIMACHAL PRADESH HIGHLIGHTS

• Theog, a small town near Shimla, has been declared the cleanest city in Himachal Pradesh.
• It secured 12th rank nationally in the “Promising Swachh Shehar”
• Naidun ranked second in the state, followed by Shimla at third.

SHIMLA’S DECLINE IN RANKING

• Shimla, once the cleanest city in Himachal Pradesh, slipped from 188th to 347th place nationally.
• Major reasons cited include:
• Poor waste collection and segregation
• Inadequate cleaning of water bodies
• Delays in dump-site remediation
• Shimla Municipal Corporation has requested a re-evaluation of the survey findings.ABOUT SWACHH SURVEKSHAN

• Launched in: 2016
• Conducted by: Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in collaboration with the Quality Council of India (QCI)
• Objective: To promote a competitive and cooperative approach to improving urban sanitation
• Coverage: Over 4,500 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) across the country
• Citizen Engagement: More than 12 crore responses collected in the 2024–25 edition
• Evaluation Parameters:
• Service Level Progress (SLP)
• Citizen Feedback
• Direct Field Observation
• Third-party Certification & Documentation