Government Announces Results Of Star Rating Of Garbage Free Cities

News: The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs(MOHUA) has announced the results of the Star Rating of Garbage Free Cities for the assessment year 2019-2020.

Facts:

• The Star Rating Protocol was launched by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs(MOHUA) in 2018.
• Aim: To institutionalize a mechanism for cities to achieve Garbage Free status and to motivate cities to achieve higher degrees of sustainable cleanliness.
• It is one of the various initiatives which intends to make Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban(SBM-U) as a successful project.
• Parameters: It is based on 25 key parameters across the solid waste management spectrum which follow a SMART framework – Single metric, Measurable, Achievable, Rigorous verification mechanism and Targeted towards outcomes.
• Procedure:

• It is supported by self-assessment and self-verification for achieving a certain star rating. 
• It also involves citizen groups for a transparent system of self-declaration.
• This self-declaration will be verified through an independent third-party agency appointed by MoHUA for 1-star, 3-star, 5-star and 7-star garbage free ratings.
• Key Takeaways:
  • A total of six cities have been certified as 5-Star, 65 cities as 3-Star and 70 cities as 1-Star.
  • The 5-Star cities include Ambikapur (Chattisgarh), Surat and Rajkot (Gujarat), Indore (Madhya Pradesh) and Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra).