HYDERABAD: Hyderabad Mayor Gadwal Vijayalaxmi, along with 40 GHMC corporators, visited Indore Nagar Nigam as part of a delegation to learn from Indore’s success in achieving the title of India’s cleanest city for seven consecutive years under the Swachh Bharat Mission.
Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargav welcomed the delegation for a meeting to discuss Indore’s strategies. Officials from Indore Smart City shared insights into their journey, which began in 2015 with the introduction of secondary storage bins of various capacities. They explained how it took 18 months to study and create a comprehensive plan for transitioning to a bin-less city. They attributed much of their success to the strong leadership of the local government at the time and their commitment to the cause.
The officials said that mixed waste has little value, highlighting the importance of source segregation to make waste a valuable resource. They slowly introduced initiatives to gain public confidence and began educating the community about the significance of separating waste at the source. This public involvement gradually led to active participation in maintaining the city’s cleanliness, they added.
One of Indore’s biggest achievements was tagging each primary waste collection vehicle with a mobiliser, who acted as a bridge between the waste collection vehicle and the household, ensuring proper segregation at the source, the officials mentioned adding that the city generates about 1,300 metric tons of waste per day, of which 550 metric tons are processed at a biogas (CNG) plant, while the remaining waste is sent to a material recovery facility. Indore has a separate fleet for door-to-door and bulk garbage collection, with the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) owning the assets and employing the workforce directly.
Vijayalaxmi congratulated the Indore Nagar Nigam for its relentless efforts in maintaining the No. 1 rank in Swachh Survekshan for seven consecutive years.