Indore’s sixth consecutive top position in Swachh Survekshan – pan India cleanliness competition – holds a lot of learnings for our city governments, technical organizations, civil society groups and all those who are engaged in this space of cities & sustainability.
We at The Analysis pick three crucial lessons from Indore’s successful and momentous journey to India’s cleanest city (for the sixth time in a row).
1. Collaboration: This is probably the first of its kind initiative where government, citizens and civil society joined hands and worked together. These three units have played an equal role in making Indore the cleanest city. Gone are the days of playing blame-game strategy or working in silos.
2. Public engagement: For those who still believe that awareness and education have very little role to play in public policy and vote for cutting communication budgets, Indore has proved that a strong public engagement plan is the key to success. Technical components need to be complemented with adequate communication and outreach strategies.
3. Political will: This is the most critical point. Not only Indore’s local government but the MP government, as well as the Government of India, has taken a deep interest in Indore’s model of resource management. Policymakers and administrators made sure that the ‘Indore model’ remains sustainable and resilient.
Indore’s case study is not just for cities that are grappling with rising challenges of urbanization and climate change but also a useful template for other public policy interventions catering to large-scale population and aiming for behaviour change and transformation at the grassroots.
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