Minister Hardeep S. Puri's Swachhatotsav: Campaign For Over 400,000 Women Entrepreneurs Taking Up Leadership In Urban Sanitation

By: WE Staff | Thursday, 30 March 2023

On the occasion of World Zero Waste Day 2023 in New Delhi, the Honourable Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs stated that 1000 cities were aimed to become 3-Star garbage free by October 2024. He also noted that certification has grown significantly since the GFC-Star rating protocol's debut, which was introduced in January 2018 to create a competitive, mission-mode mindset among ULBs.

The Minister thanked the "Swachhta Doots" from all around the country for being leaders and change agents in their neighbourhoods and for transforming obstacles into chances for a better life.

Speaking on the Mission's successes, the Minister stated that all 4,715 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in urban India are now Open Defecation Free (ODF), 3,547 ULBs are ODF+ with functional and clean communal and public restrooms, and 1,191 ULBs are ODF++ with full faecal sludge management.

Furthermore, from 17% in 2014 to 75% presently, India's garbage processing has increased by more than four times. This has been made possible by 97% of wards having 100% door-to-door garbage collection and over 90% of wards in all ULBs in the nation having source segregation of waste practiced by residents.

Shri Hardeep Singh Puri expressed optimism that in the second phase of the mission (SBM-U 2.0) when India intends to become a garbage-free nation, the will and dedication demonstrated in accomplishing the SBM-U objectives would be multiplied. He emphasized the significance of the "Garbage Free Cities" protest in promoting trash management in the nation as rising urbanization and shifting consumer patterns increase garbage creation.

Swahhata is currently a Jan Andolan and is gaining a tonne of support from the populace. Millions of people all around the nation have been inspired by The Mission to work towards the goal of having cities clean, green, and garbage-free.

Youth and female leaders who have made a good contribution to urban swachhata have been massively mobilized as a result of the campaigns. With the announcement of Swachhotsav 2023, the Union for Sustainable Development gave the efforts to clean up cities and make them garbage-free a new boost.

MinisterShriHardeepSinghPurion March 7th, 2023. The campaign aims to inspire women's leadership and engagement in order to achieve "Garbage Free Cities." From March 8th, 2023 onward, a number of celebrations and activities have been planned across cities to honour and bring together women from many walks of life to pave the road for creating "Garbage Free Cities."

Almost 400,000 female entrepreneurs were given a platform by the Swachhotsav program to assume leadership positions in urban cleanliness. By taking part in special Yatras and the Mashaal March, women assumed responsibility for urban cleanliness and led the charge to change the urban environment.

With the overall goal of building "Garbage Free Cities" (GFC), the Hon. Prime Minister announced Swachh Bharat Mission- Urban2.0, setting India on a new trajectory of development towards an ecosystem of comprehensive sanitation and waste management. The elements of a GFC include achieving door-to-door collection, source segregation, waste processing and dumpsite cleanup, IEC, capacity building, digital tracking, etc.

Also, India is supporting the zero-waste strategy, which calls for the ethical manufacture, consumption, and product disposal of goods in a closed, circular system. The Minister praised the women-led Jan Andolan "Rally for Trash Free Communities," in which thousands of residents have volunteered to clean up their streets, neighbourhoods, and parks.

The Secretary of the MoHUA, Shri Manoj Joshi, praised the leadership of women for ensuring that waste management is circular and for executing a zero-waste strategy that turns garbage into useful resources.

He emphasized the necessity of professionalizing self-help organizations in order to increase their ability to generate cash. In accordance with the goal of our Hon. Prime Minister, initiatives like "Women in Garbage Management" and "Women-led Garbage Free Cities" are achieving the intended outcomes.

Mayors, commissioners, and mission directors participated in the discussion on circularity in garbage-free cities, women and youth for GFC, and business and tech for GFC in the presence of Union Minister Shri Hardeep Singh Puri. A Fireside Talk with Mayors was also part of the event, where States like Bihar, Jharkhand, UP, Maharashtra, and Chattisgarh highlighted their best practices and triumphs.