Hyderabad: Can Hyderabad be the next Indore in cleanliness? Will the city achieve the cleanliness Swachh standards set by cities like Surat? The forthcoming Swachh Survekshan (SS-2024) assessment is set to be a decisive factor in determining the city’s progress towards these sanitation benchmarks.
Following 3-star and 5-star ratings in 2022 and 2023, respectively, for the garbage-free city category, the GHMC is now eyeing a 7-star rating under the Swachh Bharat Mission. If successful, Hyderabad will be ranked alongside Indore, Mysore, Bhopal, and Vizag as one of the cleanest cities in the country.

However, GHMC is facing an obstacle in obtaining this coveted rating, as more than 2,000 locations across the city remain vulnerable to garbage accumulation. Following the implementation of the garbage-free city star rating in 2021, GHMC cleared around 600 garbage vulnerable points (GVPs) across the city by removing roadside bins and introducing door-to-door collection services using the Swachh auto tippers that collect waste directly from residences.
To address waste disposal, the civic body installed surveillance cameras at GVPs. Recently, GHMC also implemented an e-challan system to impose fines ranging from 100 to 10,000, depending on the offence. These fines will be levied on individuals found disposing of garbage in nalas, dumping construction and demolition waste in open spaces and water bodies.
“To deter citizens from waste disposal in open spaces, we have implemented a comprehensive challan management system. In the past 45 days, around 800 challans were issued, resulting in penalties totalling 18.4 lakh. Regarding GVPs, their predominant location near slum settlements poses a challenge. To address this issue, we are deploying 1,000 bins near these locations, with initial implementation already underway in the Old City area,” said a senior official in the sanitation wing of GHMC.
Under Swachh Survekshan, GHMC marginally improved its ranking from 13 in 2021 to 9 in 2023. Since 2016, when Swachh Survekshan commenced, the civic body achieved notable recognition as the ‘Best State Capital/UT in solid waste management’ amongst 4,203 cities and secured the top position among five major metropolitan cities in 2019 under a special category.
Currently, the evaluation process for the 9th edition of Swachh Survekshan (SS-2024), which focuses on the theme ‘Reduce Reuse Recycle’, is in progress. While the first three phases of the survey have been completed, some crucial changes have been made in the toolkit under phase 4 assessment, which includes the ‘Super Swachh League’, a focus on tourist and high footfall places, promoting the integration of Swachhata values within schools, and penalties.