Andhra Pradesh secures six Swachh Survekshan awards

AMARAVATI Andhra Pradesh has secured six national-level awards in this year’s Swachh Survekshan rankings, doubling its share of awards from 12.5% last year to 25% this year, Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister P. Narayana said on Wednesday. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, he said the State had won five of the 78 awards last year, compared with six of the 60 awards this year.

Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Guntur, Rajamahendravaram, Tirupati and Kuppam were among the award-winning urban centres. He attributed the improved performance to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s Swachh Andhra programme, under which cleanliness drives are organised on the third Saturday of every month. The Minister said 153 lakh tonnes of legacy waste had been cleared across the State, including 85 lakh tonnes in the government’s first year in office.

Of the 106 approved waste-processing plants, 60 had been established and another 26 would be set up shortly. The government aimed to complete a waste-to-energy plant within 18 months and establish sewage treatment plants in every municipality within six months. Mr. Narayana said ₹900 crore had been earmarked for developing green spaces, with a target of achieving 50% green cover by 2047.

Urban development works worth ₹50,000 crore were also being taken up with support from the Union and State governments.