Hyderabad: Greater Hyderabad has been recognised as Telangana’s first Swachh city under the Swachh Survekshan 2025-26, conducted by the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission–Urban.The national recognition acknowledges the city’s efforts in improving urban sanitation, cleanliness and solid waste management. Hyderabad in charge minister Ponnam Prabhakar, GHMC commissioner RV Karnan and HMDA commissioner Sarfaraz Ahmed received the award from President Droupadi Murmu in New Delhi on Wednesday.As part of the assessment, cities were evaluated across 10 key parameters, with a total of 10,500 marks. The evaluation covered visible sanitation, door-to-door garbage collection, waste segregation, transportation and processing, sewage management, public sanitation facilities, water management, sanitation workers’ welfare and citizen feedback.A third-party field inspection was conducted across the twin cities this April and May to assess sanitation infrastructure, solid waste management, sewage treatment, door-to-door garbage collection and public participation.Apart from its own sanitation initiatives, GHMC has also been extending support to smaller urban local bodies under the Swachh Shehar Jodi programme. It has signed MoUs with Manthani and Cheryala municipalities as a mentor city and organised training programmes and capacity-building workshops to help improve sanitation standards in these municipalities.Officials said the award would further encourage the civic body to strengthen cleanliness initiatives and make Greater Hyderabad a cleaner and more sustainable city.GFX: Hyderabad’s cleanliness milestones2017: Awarded Open Defecation Free (ODF) status2019: Achieved ODF++ status2021: Became the first urban local body in Telangana to receive Water Plus certification2023 and 2024: Retained Water Plus certification2023: Received a five-star Garbage Free City rating.2024: Upgraded to a seven-star Garbage Free City rating.2024: Secured sixth rank in Swachh Survekshan among cities with a population of over 10 lakh.
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