Port Blair, Jul 21 (PTI) In a significant achievement, Port Blair has been conferred with the ‘Special Category Award – Promising Swachh Shehar’ under the 9th edition of Swachh Survekshan 2024-25, held under the theme ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.’ The award was presented by Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Manohar Lal, during a ceremony held at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on July 17.
The award was received by S. Shahul Hameed, chairperson, Port Blair Municipal Council (PBMC), Azharuddin Zahiruddin Quazi, IAS, secretary, PBMC, an official said.
According to the city report card by MoHUA, Port Blair, falls under the medium city category (0.5 to 3 lakh population) and secured a score of 9,096 out of 12,500 (72.27 per cent).
The city earned ODF++ (Open Defecation Free) certification and a 3-Star Garbage Free City (GFC) rating for the first time, a senior PBMC official said on Monday.
The survey covered 16 residential areas, two commercial zones, six public toilets, 12 schools, 350 households, 36 waste processing units, one dumpsite remediation site, and one faecal sludge treatment plant.
A total of 11,100 citizen feedback responses were collected and verified by an independent third party.
This year’s Swachh Survekshan included three award categories: Super Swachh League Cities (Presidential Awards), National Rankings (Presidential Awardees), and Special Category Awards (Cabinet Minister’s Awardees).
With this latest recognition, Port Blair has significantly improved its national standing, climbing to 99th out of 824 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in 2024–25, up from 162nd out of 446 ULBs in the 2023–24 edition. PTI SN SN MNB
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