Hyderabad 9th cleanest city in India, Siddipet cleanest in South India

Hyderabad: Hyderabad city was deemed the ninth cleanest among cities having a population of more than one lakh, as per the Swachh Survekshan Awards 2023. Siddipet won the national award for being the cleanest in south India in the 50,000-1 lakh population category.

Besides the ninth rank, Greater Hyderabad got a five-star rating for sanitation. It is also the first instance of a Telangana city, with a population of over 1 lakh, getting a five-star certification. It also received a recertification of ‘water+’ city.

GHMC commissioner Ronald Rose and district representatives received the awards in New Delhi on Thursday.

The assessment was based on a survey conducted between April 2022 and March 2023, covering 4,443 local bodies in all.

As per the survey, GHMC’s score was categorised as 51 per cent in services, 26 per cent in certification and 23 per cent in people’s voice components.

Officials expressed their happiness over the city, which was ranked 275 in 2015, entering the top 10 ranks for cleanliness.

The award was conferred by Union urban development minister Hardeep Singh Puri at a ceremony at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.

Expressing happiness over Siddipet getting the award, Siddipet MLA and former minister T. Harish Rao congratulated the city residents and officials “without whose contributions Siddipet would not have achieved the status as the cleanest city in south India.”

Harish Rao said Siddipet’s garbage collection and disposal systems, and cleanliness works are emerging as models for the country. “This is a great moment of pride for Siddipet and all the people,” he said.