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News: The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has launched the Swachh Shehar Jodi initiative to improve urban sanitation through city-to-city mentorship.
About Swachh Shehar Jodi (SSJ) Initiative
- The Swachh Shehar Jodi is an initiative to improve waste management and sanitation in cities through a mentorship program.
- Organised by: The initiative is organised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
- Implemented under: It is implemented under the Swachh Bharat Mission–Urban (SBM-U).
- Origin: The initiative was developed to replicate successful sanitation practices identified through successive editions of Swachh Survekshan.
- Aim: It aims to improve sanitation performance by sharing tested practices, strengthening waste management systems and encouraging responsible citizen behaviour.
- Eight Focus Areas: The initiative focuses on eight areas:
- visible cleanliness; waste segregation and transportation; scientific processing of waste; access to sanitation; used water management; mechanised desludging and worker welfare; Swachhata advocacy and citizen engagement; and citizen feedback and grievance redressal.
- Key Features
- 100-Day Programme: Mentor and mentee cities prepare joint action plans with clearly defined milestones to improve sanitation outcomes.
- Mentorship Principle: The initiative follows the principle of “Each One, Teach One”, based on India’s traditional Guru–Shishya model, to promote the sharing of knowledge and best practices between cities.
- Funding: Mentor and mentee cities can use the Capacity Building (CB) funds provided to States/UTs under SBM-U 2.0, with additional support from State/UT Governments if required.
- Selection of City Pairs: Mentor and mentee cities are selected based on their sanitation performance, with geographical proximity also considered while pairing them.
- Latest Participation: According to the Swachh Survekshan 2025–26 results, 70 mentor cities and 191 mentee cities across 33 States/UTs participated in the initiative.
- Top Three Swachh Shehar Jodis: The following city pairs received recognition based on their combined performance:
- Ahmedabad–Sanand
- Indore–Depalpur
- Tirupati–Kuppam
