Swachh Shehar Jodi programme rolled out to mentor cities lagging in cleanliness performance

New Delhi, Sep 27 (PTI) The Central government on Saturday rolled out the Swachh Shehar Jodi initiative, a structured mentorship and collaborative action programme involving 72 mentor and around 200 mentee cities under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban scheme.

Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal launched the initiative at Sonipat in the presence of Minister of State Tokhan Sahu and Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini.

Nearly 300 agreements were signed between the mentor and mentee cities, the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry (MoHUA) said in a statement.

Under the initiative, 72 top-performing cities, selected from the Super Swachh League and Swachh Survekshan 2024 rankings, ”have been designated as mentor cities to guide the mentee cities that have lagged in sanitation performance.

The mentor and mentee cities were paired based on their geographical proximity within the same states, the ministry said.

In July, the government's annual cleanliness survey named Ahmedabad as the cleanest big city, followed by Bhopal and Lucknow.

Indore, Surat, Navi Mumbai and Vijayawada were elevated to a newly formed 'Super Swachh League Cities' category for demonstrating exceptional performance in sanitation.

At the event, Manohar Lal said that Swachh Shehar Jodi is not just a ceremonial partnership but a time-bound and outcome-driven initiative, which is among the largest such endeavour in urban waste management.

MoHUA will provide strategic direction and policy-level support to ensure effective implementation of the Swachh Shehar Jodi, the statement said. PTI BUN RUK RUK