Srinagar, Nov 20: Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital Srinagar has figured among 50 cleanest cities in India in the national cleanliness survey under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) conducted by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
Of 4320 cities surveyed on the cleanliness index, Srinagar has been ranked 42nd under the SBM. Among all Union Territories, J&K has been ranked the second position after Chandigarh. Among the civic bodies in J&K, Srinagar has secured the first rank.
However, Srinagar during the previous survey figured at 36th place in the rankings. Under Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge 2021, Srinagar has bagged 12th rank this year.
For the fifth consecutive year, Indore was awarded the title of India’s Cleanest City under Swachh Survekshan, while Surat and Vijayawada bagged the second and third spots respectively in the ‘more than 1 lakh population’ category.
Varanasi emerged as the ‘Best Ganga Town’ while Ahmedabad Cantonment won the title of ‘India’s Cleanest Cantonment’, followed by Meerut Cantonment and Delhi Cantonment.
In the category of ‘Fastest Mover’, Hoshangabad of Madhya Pradesh emerged as the ‘Fastest Mover City’ with a jump of 274 ranks from 361st position in the 2020 rankings to the 87th position this year, thus securing a place among the top 100 cities.
An official said that President of India Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday felicitated the awardees of the cleanest cities of India at the ‘Swachh Amrit Mahotsav’ hosted as part of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs in New Delhi.
“The award ceremony, organized to recognize the good work done for Swachhata by towns/ cities, States and Union Territories under various initiatives of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), viz. Swachh Survekshan 2021, Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge, and certifications for Garbage Free Star rating for cities – saw more than 300 awards under various categories being given away through the day,” an official informed.