Indore and Surat have been selected as the cleanest cities in the country. This is the seventh time in a row that Indore has won the Swachh Survekshan Award given by the Central Government in the category of cities with a population above one lakh. When the award was first introduced in 2016, Indore was ranked 25th. How this city continues to maintain the top spot in cleanliness now is worth studying by other cities in India, including Thiruvananthapuram. This award is given based on citizen response and on-site determination. Urban sanitation comes under the responsibility of the state government. Garbage collection and disposal must be done flawlessly to keep it clean. Responses are mainly sought from the citizens regarding the frequency of garbage collection by the municipal authorities. There is a clear system for waste collection and disposal in Indore. They do it effectively and without compromise. A fee is also collected from the city dwellers for this. When the authorities were adamant that there would be no compromise in the matter of cleanliness, the people also began to sincerely cooperate in keeping the city clean. Thus cleanliness became a culture of society in Indore. This is what keeps Indore at the number one position. Garbage collection in Indore is not done by private contractors. The municipality does everything directly.

Garbage is collected at the source by separating it into several categories. This separation is done by the householders themselves. In case the householders give wet and dry items together without separating them, the municipal employees will not accept it. This participatory hygiene management is the secret of the success of Indore. Initially, there was a lot of opposition in Indore too. 1,200 road cleaners lost their jobs when 3,000 dustbins were installed every 500 meters, leading to a strike. Out of this, 1000 people have been appointed by the municipality itself to collect the garbage. Now 692 tonnes of wet waste, 683 tonnes of dry waste and 179 tonnes of plastic waste are collected from the city every day. About 850 specially prepared vehicles are used for this purpose. All modern facilities have been put in place to process all this. Wet waste is treated and sold as fertilizer. A fine of Rs 250 to Rs 500 has also been imposed for littering or spitting on the road.

Even though garbage is collected in other cities, it is not properly disposed of. In our state, fines have been imposed for not doing the work that should be done by the municipality. Kerala ranks 22nd on the cleanliness index. Alappuzha is leading among cities and Varkala among towns under 1 lakh population. Alappuzha with 320 and Thiruvananthapuram with 321 are among the top 500 cities in Kerala. Two years are enough for Kerala to rise from 22nd position to 1st position if we are adamant, but we are the ones who should make a decision. Otherwise, Brahmapurams will keep repeating here.