Raipur Municipal Corporation has secured first position in Chhattisgarh under the State First Swachh City of Chhattisgarh category at the Swachh Survekshan 2025-26 awards, with the civic body citing waste processing, sewage treatment, public-space management and technology-led monitoring behind the recognition.
Mayor Meenal Chaubey and municipal commissioner Sambit Mishra received the award from President Droupadi Murmu at a ceremony at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Wednesday. The recognition places Raipur at the top of the state category in the national cleanliness assessment.
The municipal corporation said its sanitation work extended beyond periodic cleanliness campaigns and included year-round operations. These included scientific processing of municipal solid waste, sewage treatment, management of public spaces, digital monitoring of garbage collection and citizen participation initiatives.
A major part of the city’s recent cleanliness drive involved the transformation of 53 Cleanliness Target Unit sites across Raipur’s 10 municipal zones. The work was carried out during the month-long Swachhata Hi Seva campaign from September 17 to October 17, focusing on neglected public areas where garbage accumulation and poor maintenance had emerged as concerns.
Civic teams removed waste, cleaned the sites, painted public areas and undertook beautification work with support from residents, social organisations and institutions. The locations included the Sabun Dabri pond area and water department premises in Bhathagaon, the old municipal corporation building, Dussehra ground, Gausia ground, Guru Tegh Bahadur Park and areas around Jagannath temple precincts.
On waste management, the Raipur Municipal Corporation said all daily municipal solid waste generated in the city is scientifically processed at its integrated solid waste management facility in Sakri, removing the need for open dumping. Wet waste is converted into organic fertiliser and supplied to fertiliser companies, while dry waste is segregated and sent for recycling.
The corporation also reported that its sewage treatment plants have a combined capacity of 206 million litres per day. Treated wastewater is reused for industrial purposes. In addition, the civic body is working on tertiary treatment for another 3 MLD of secondary-treated wastewater to improve its quality and enable further reuse.
Technology has been added to the door-to-door garbage collection system. Routes followed by around 50 to 60 collection vehicles have been digitised using GPS. The monitoring system generates alerts when a vehicle deviates from its assigned route, is delayed by more than 30 minutes or remains stationary for 15 to 20 minutes without a valid reason.
A citizen-facing facility to track garbage collection vehicles and view their expected arrival times is also planned. The corporation has introduced CCTV monitoring at identified garbage-dumping points to help identify violators and support penalty action.
Public participation campaigns have included Mera Bazar, Swachh Bazar and the Red Dot initiative, which promotes safe disposal and segregation of menstrual waste. The corporation said these measures were intended to strengthen sanitation practices while protecting sanitation workers.
The municipal body said the award reflects an effort to make sanitation a sustained municipal responsibility rather than an activity limited to short-term cleanliness campaigns.
