Swachh Shehar, Samridh Shehar: Solan leads state in cleanliness drive, beats Dharamsala by half point
The Solan Municipal Corporation (MC) has secured the top position among eight civic bodies in Himachal Pradesh in the first phase of the ‘Swachh Shehar, Samridh Shehar’ initiative. With a score of 86.5 points, Solan edged past Dharamsala, which scored 86 points, while the Palampur MC followed closely with 84 points.
The 60-day campaign, launched in February, aimed to introduce clean and sustainable urban practices across the state. Key focus areas included source segregation of solid waste, organizing Samadhan Shivirs in every ward to address civic issues, and launching an online citizen service portal offering comprehensive public utility services.
Solan stood out by scoring 34 points in source segregation of waste, 33 in Samadhan Shivirs, and 19.5 in the online citizen service portal. These cumulative efforts elevated the town to the top rank.
Commissioner of Solan MC, Ekta Kapta, said the evaluation for phase one was completed on April 10. The assessment for phase two is currently underway and will continue till the end of April. Final rankings will be released afterward.
A key aspect of the campaign was promoting behavioural change toward dry and wet waste segregation. This initiative created considerable awareness among citizens, resulting in better compliance.
Each civic body submitted a detailed project report outlining its progress. These reports were thoroughly evaluated by the Directorate of Urban Development to determine the rankings.
The Samadhan Shivirs played a crucial role by resolving various public service issues. These included malfunctioning streetlights, garbage disposal, road sweeping, drain conditions, illegal parking, water supply issues, property tax disputes, and public toilet facilities.
The online citizen service portal further boosted Solan’s score by offering data and services related to garbage collection, tax assessments, advertisement permissions, pet registrations, hall bookings, trade license applications, and refuse-derived fuel details.
With a population of 51,829 spread across 17 wards, Solan MC witnessed active participation from officials and ward councillors in the shivirs. However, a few wards reported low resident turnout, pointing to a need for greater civic engagement.
Additionally, Solan carried out hotspot cleaning and meetings with key stakeholders, including Resident Welfare Associations, hotel and market associations, APMC, HRTC, and transport unions. These efforts collectively strengthened awareness and support for the cleanliness campaign. This holistic and participative approach helped Solan secure its top ranking and set a benchmark for other urban bodies in the state.
Himachal Tribune