A year after the launch of the Swachchh Bharat Mission (SBM), the Centre is all set to conduct a survey of 75 cities particularly those with a population of over 10 lakh, to assess the sanitation scenario with focus on solid waste management which is adversely impacting the cleanliness campaign in the urban areas.

Apart from New Delhi and State capitals, Ahmedabad, Varanasi, Pune, Visakhapatnam, Gurgaon, Kochi, Nagpur, Amritsar, Allahabad are among the 75 cities, which account for over 50 per cent of country’s total urban population, to be rated for its cleanliness.

Other cities are Vijayawada, Guwahati, Raipur and Durg, Itanagar, Gandhinagar, Vadodara, Rajkot, Surat Panaji, Faridabad, Shimla, Srinagar, Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Bengaluru, Mysore, Hubli-Dharwad, Kochi, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram, Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior and Jabalpur.

The parameters of the survey which will be completed by January next year have been aligned with the objectives of the Mission with more focus on solid waste management which is adversely impacting cleanliness in urban areas, as per the direction of Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, said a senior UF Ministry official. 

The proposed survey and subsequent ratings are aimed at fostering a spirit of competition among the major cities and State capitals in 29 States and Chandigarh to ensure sanitation in urban areas, the official added.

In the proposed survey, solid waste management is being given 60 per cent weightage followed by 15 per cent each for availability and use of household individual toilets and public and community toilets besides 5 per cent each for city level sanitation plans and information, education and behaviour change communication(IEBC) activities.

Under the Mission, about `37,000 crore of the project cost of `62,009 crore is to be incurred on solid waste

management in view of its importance in ensuring success of the campaign, the official added.