Day 2: Swachh Shehar Samvad and Tech Exhibition

Sep 30,2022

70 Top Cities of the Indian Swachhata League Felicitated

A  2- day Swachh Shehar Samvad and Tech Exhibition was organized by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on the 29th and 30th of September 2022,  as part of the fortnight long Swachh Amrit Mahotsav. The Samvad and Tech Exhibition, a capacity building initiative by MoHUA, witnessed a vibrant gathering of policy makers, representatives from states and cities, industry, technology providers, academia , R&D institutions, NGOs, and sector partners to exchange learning, expertise, and best practices and to deliberate on strategies and action plans to accelerate their progress towards Garbage free status. The event was inaugurated on 29th Sept 2022 by Union Minister for Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri.

Over 1000 delegates participated in the mega event that also included  technology and experiential exhibitions on state-of-the-art waste management products ,solutions and other offerings  from a host of technology providers and companies . The Samvad hosted 45 resource persons/speakers from 17  States , 18 cities and 10 experts from industry , private sector , academia, NGOs, and sector partners who brought to the forum experiences and learnings from across India . Multi-pronged interventions driven by states and cities were highlighted. Focused sessions curated around experiences and lessons for legacy dumpsite remediation , collection and transportation of waste, dry waste management, wet waste management and used water management and city specific experiences in waste management governance inspired the delegates and led to lively discussions and deliberations.

The Tech Exhibition evoked much interest among the States and Cities and was well attended. Around 35 technology providers demonstrated various products and solutions in recycling, upcycling of dry waste of all kinds, remediation technologies,  IT enabled applications , technologies in used water management , portable units for waste processing  etc.. Delegates also visited the thematic experiential exhibitions on mission initiatives inclusive of Garbage Free Cities, aspirational toilets, used water management etc. The Exhibition also featured a virtual library of practical resource guides on all aspects of waste management.

Further , during the Samvad various knowledge products  and guidelines were released by the MoHUA on  home composting, organic waste management, legacy dumpsite remediation and used water management in small and medium towns. The SBM Urban Mission will follow these up with further capacity development interventions to enable ULBs to effectively apply these knowledge products

The sessions and the exhibitions provided exposure to ULBs especially from the small and medium towns on the various technology options available in sanitation and waste management and opportunity to engage with their counterparts in other cities and with industry and private sector as well.

The Hon’ble Minister of State,  Shri Kaushal Kishore, chaired the valedictory session on the 30th of Sept 2022 and  felicitated the top 70 cities chosen from across 8 different population categories of the Indian Swachhata League (ISL),   an inter-city youth led competition for Garbage Free Cities. The ISL, a first of its kind initiative organized on 17th of September as part of the Swachh Amrit Mahotsav,  witnessed unprecedented participation with 1850+ cities and over 5 lakh youth volunteers . Each city came out with creative and appealing campaigns . After a rigorous and challenging screening and evaluation process with the support of Administrative Staff College of India , the top 70 cities  (31 cities in the ‘Below ten lakhs’ population category, a8 in the Million Plus category and remaining 31 cities as  ‘special mentions’ ) were shortlisted.

During his address Shri Kaushal Kishore  , stated that he was pleased to note that the traction for a Swachh Bharat was gaining, and citizens were taking on the mantle of creating a clean India. The ISL and other efforts have  created an unstoppable momentum among Urban Local Bodies and States to systematically improve their management of waste. He exhorted the awardee cities to widely publicize their endeavour so that more citizens are inspired to join their efforts and asked them to make ‘Swachhata’ a part of their daily lives.

The Samvad was a prelude to the grand finale on 1st October 2022 when the much-anticipated Azadi@75 Swachh Survekshan Awards will be announced . The Hon’ble President of India Smt Droupadi Murmu will grace the occasion and felicitate the top performing cities and states under various categories of the Swachh Survekshan Awards. It is envisaged that the awards will serve to further motivate the cities, who will then lead the way for other cities to follow and realize the collective vision of Garbage Free Cities.