Gujarat’s diamond city shines in Swatch Vayu Sarvekshan 2024
Surat will be honoured as a ‘National Clean Air City’ with a cash prize of ₹1.5 crore
Surat, which ranked 13th as the cleanest city in the country last year, has secured first position in the Swachh Vayu Survekshan (SVS) 2024, leaving behind 131 cities across the country. The Diamond City scored 194 out of 200 marks.
Surat successfully reduced PM10 (particulate matter with a diameter of 10 micrometres or less) by a remarkable 12.71% in 2023-24.
For this achievement, Surat will be honoured as a ‘National Clean Air City’ with a cash prize of ₹1.5 crore, a trophy, and a certificate at a ceremony organised by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on Sept 7 in Jaipur under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).
To improve air quality in Indian cities, the central government initiated the Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan to evaluate the efforts of non-attainment cities with a target of a 30% reduction in air particulates.
The cities are mainly evaluated based on eight factors, including solid waste management, road dust, dust generated from construction and demolition waste, vehicular emissions, industrial emissions, public awareness programs, and improvements in air quality.
Surat’s efforts to improve air quality
Over the past five years, Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) has undertaken several projects worth ₹5,000 crore to improve air quality. These include removing 4,200 metric tons of dust annually from roads using mechanical sweepers and reducing annual carbon dioxide emissions by 7,000 metric tons by using 35% e-vehicles for door-to-door garbage collection.
In collaboration with the World Resources Institute, Surat has implemented clean construction guidelines in 280 ongoing projects to reduce the use of natural resources and manage construction and demolition waste. The public transport system operates 580 e-buses.
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