President will honour Swachh Survekshan Awards-2021

Highlights:

• In 'Swachh Survekshan 2021,' President Ram Nath Kovind will honour 342 cities that have received a star rating for being garbage-free and clean.
• To honour cities, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MOHUA) hosts "Swachh Amrit Mahotsav."
• The event will take place in the national capital's Vigyan Bhawan.
• Under the 'Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge,' the Swachh Amrit Mahotsav will also honour sanitation workers by recognising top-performing cities.
• Swachh Survekshan is a government initiative that aims to improve sanitation in India. By assessing roughly 4320 cities, the year 2021 has become the world's largest cleanliness survey.
• In 2016, it conducted a study of 73 large cities. Despite on-the-ground hurdles caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, the 2021 edition was completed in just 28 days.
• The government introduced the Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge to encourage mechanised cleaning of septic tanks and sewers while also preventing "hazardous cleaning" in which a human penetrates them.

• According to the government, six states and six UTs have improved their ground level performance between 5% to 25%.
• A total of 1100 new cities have begun to separate their rubbish at the source.
• Around 1800 municipal governments in the United States have granted welfare benefits to sanitation workers.
• Non-biodegradable plastic bags are prohibited from being sold, used, or stored in more than 1500 localities. It has been applied by 3000 city governments thus far.
• The citizen response in all of the North Eastern states improved significantly.