How Chhattisgarh remains 'Cleanest State' in country

The connect from governance to delivery along with persuasive engagement of functionaries at every level yielded favourable outcome.
Segregation of dry and wet garbage at Source. (Photo | Express)
Segregation of dry and wet garbage at Source. (Photo | Express)

CHHATTISGARH: The collaborative effort of the public and officials on a meticulously rolled out strategy by the Chhattisgarh government on the 'Clean India Mission' ensured a success story in the State. 

The connect from governance to delivery along with persuasive engagement of functionaries at every level yielded favourable outcome. 

Perseverance, discipline and focus made the mantra that enabled the Chhattisgarh government to remain consistent in its performance as India’s ‘Cleanest State’ for consecutive years of 2019 and 2020 in the world’s largest sanitation survey.

The spirit of cleanliness among beneficiaries virtually turned into a movement under the Swachch Bharat Mission (SBM).

It’s no mean feat for Chhattisgarh’s accomplishment to be rated as ‘leading’ during the evaluation done on various specifications and parameters under the extensive surveys commissioned by the ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

The Ambikapur model

Chhattisgarh had earlier launched a ‘Mission Clean City’ -- piloted at north Chhattisgarh’s Ambikapur, the town which was again judged as the country’s cleanest city this year.

The Ambikapur model, implemented across the state, incorporated low cost, sustainable and a decentralised mechanism based on the process of reducing, reusing and recycling (3-R) of waste.

The encouraging community participation remains the key as citizens and self help groups (SHGs) helped in 100 percent source segregation and door-to-door collection of segregated waste.

The urban areas of Chhattisgarh generated around 1,650 tonnes of waste per day which are managed by urban local bodies (ULBs). In pursuance to the solid waste management rules-2016, the Mission Clean City Model has been adopted in all 164 ULBs of the state. 

How the model works

It begins right at the primary (initial) stage when Swachta didi (SHG women) get engaged in sorting-out the waste at source (household and commercial areas) ahead of loading it in their rickshaws to be taken to the Garbage Clinic conceived at the Solid Liquid Resource Management (SLRM) centre, where secondary segregation is carried out by another SHG team.

The organic waste is then converted into compost and sold. Papers, plastics, leathers, rubbers, wooden pieces, glass, metals and others are separated from the bulk garbage at SLRM centre. Such process offers value addition to the waste which are sold from the centre.

Plastic waste is seen as a huge problem and necessitated for a tertiary level plan where through public-private partnership it gets segregated and further processed through machines.

The remaining plastic and other waste that cannot be consumed by any process are supplied to cement industries as Refuge Derived Fuel what works like combustible coal.

Across the 164 ULBs, over 9000 women SHGs are engaged in door-to-door collection of segregated waste mounted on 2640 tricycles, 383 mini tipper vehicles and 98 e-rickshaws.

As many as 358 SLRM centres across urban bodies have material recovery facilities for secondary and tertiary segregation of dry municipal waste besides the 163 sheds for composting organic debris. A zero landfill model is adopted.

“Sustainable and productive waste management model enable Chhattisgarh to secure cleanest state tag by adopting the innovative methods.

The model ensured citizen participation and livelihood promotion. Credit equally goes to swachta warriors and sanitation team,” the chief minister Bhupesh Baghel said.

The SBM is a people-driven programme in the state.

“In Chhattisgarh the diligent efforts at ground level, while defying every possible odds, apparently took the state to the top. Effective mechanism put in place on garbage management. The Swachh Survekshan is an year long exercise that evaluates cities. A promising opening begins with the people from all walks of life contributing their roles,” said Alarmelmangai D, secretary (urban administration department) and further added that a pro-active role of department worked through a three-tier monitoring system at district, division and state level. 

A central dashboard was created to capture the database of the ULBs along with State Monitoring Interface portals to check the status of the state as a whole.

“City coordinators comprising of young engineers persevered to pivot and course-correct the ULBs even before the problem surfaced,” Alarmelmangai D averred.

Regarding weighing of the benchmark, the additional CEO (state urban development agency), Saumil Ranjan Chaubey informed that the various specifications and criteria judging the performance of Chhattisgarh study the progress on quarterly monitoring to ascertain sustainability level.

The data is collected through direct observation along with photographic evidences.

Citizen feedback constituted 25 percent of the total weightage of survey (Sarvekshan), followed by the certification process.

Jointly funded by the centre, state and ULB, the capital cost of mission clean city amounts to Rs 222 crore, which is nearly four times lesser compared to conventional waste to energy model.

The field assessors usually validate claims around door-to-door garbage collection, segregation of waste, bin free urban bodies, on-site processing of dry and wet waste, accessibility & cleanliness of community and public toilets, the sewerage system, home composting of kitchen waste, integration of waste pickers into sustainable livelihoods among others. 

The state now contemplates a virtual mass campaign as “Fir Banega No-1 Chhattisgarh” for next year.

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The New Indian Express
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