Waste management, smart civic sense and strong infrastructure: How Indore maintained top spot as India's cleanest city for 8th year

Indore has been named India's cleanesst city for 8th consecutive year

Indore has been named India's cleanest city for the eighth consecutive year, according to the government's annual survey. Indore is followed by Surat and Navi Mumbai, in the count of the cleanest cities in India.

But a deep dive into what Indore does to maintain its spot tells us that it is not an accident that year after year, Indore becomes the cleanest city in India. Smart civic sense, efficient waste management and a strong infrastructure has helped Indore in maininating the top spot.

Indore, unlike many other places, has implemented a system that requires each household as well as every commercial establishment to separate waste into six categories. These categories include wet, dry, plastic, hazardous, sanitary and e-waste.

Reports say that because everyone follows this waste segregation system in Indore, it becomes very easy for authorities to have the waste processed on the same day which thereby helps in reducing the accumulation of waste and also improves the efficiency of waste segregation authorities.

When it comes to waste management and its treatment for its processing, Indore leads the way. Indore has a large-scale Gobar-Dhan plant that helps in processing up to 550-692 tonnes of wet waste daily - thus aiding in the production of bio-CNG and organic compost.

The bio-CNG is also efficiently used to fuel city buses and is also readily available to the residents of the city at discounted rates. The city is also a pro at recycling its plastic waste, some of which is even converted into fuel. Even the garden waste is reused after being processed through decentralised facilities and mobile units, reports have said.

Certain areas in Indore, including markets, zoos, RWA's and slums, have been converted into "zero waste zones" - requiring everyone to practise segregation, recycle, reuse, and composting of waste. The city also has a robust technology that helps in the management of waste throughout.

The garbage trucks, that have been enabled with GPS, make sure that the waste is collected timely. The process in monitored from a centralised control room, that helps in real-time performance tracking.

Apart from this, Indore has also launched several campaigns like "Bartab Bank" that aim to tech people to avoid the regular used of plastics. A campaign named "Jhola Bag" was also launched to aid and enable the use of cloth bags. The "Swachhta Anthems" that are played during door-to-door waste collection have also proven helpful in the city's mission to stay clean.

Meanwhile, the NGOs in Indore have also joined in the mission and conduct all-round awareness drive to make sure that everyone is onboard the cleanliness drive of the city. There is massive participation from students and other citizens in cleanliness competitions and pledges.

To ensure that people stay consistent with the mission, CCTV monitoring often helps and violators are met with fines. The municipal corporation often deploys strict measures, including the termination of the non-compliant staff and facilitating their commitment towards meeting the set standards.