GUWAHATI: The Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) on Saturday, May 30, announced the launch of Guwahati Swachh Abhiyan 2.0, a city-wide cleanliness competition aimed at encouraging public participation and raising awareness about sanitation and beautification across the city.
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Addressing the media, Guwahati Mayor Mrigen Sarania and GMC Commissioner Chinmoy Prakash Phookan said the initiative was approved during the corporation’s general meeting. The competition will involve development committees, self-help groups (SHGs), clubs, and other local organisations from various parts of Guwahati.
Registrations for the competition will remain open from June 1 to June 15 across GMC’s six divisions. Detailed guidelines and execution plans will be discussed with participants after June 16, while the competition will be conducted from July 1 to August 31.
To ensure proper monitoring, GMC officials will supervise the initiative, and the Mayor said efforts would also be made to involve officials from outside Assam in the evaluation process. Participants will be assessed through a marking system based on several cleanliness and beautification parameters.
As per the guidelines, each participating organisation must submit a list of at least 100 households from its locality. Areas with more than 300 households may be divided into two separate groups for participation.
Every household will be required to maintain green and blue dustbins, carrying 10 marks in the evaluation. Other criteria include maintaining garbage-free drains, discouraging plastic waste disposal in drains, ensuring roads remain free from waste dumping, undertaking beautification through tree plantation, painting social awareness messages such as “No Spitting” and “No Dumping” on walls, keeping roads free from spit stains, and spreading awareness to prevent open urination. Each of these categories will carry 10 marks.
Additional marks will be awarded for the overall cleanliness of roads and public spaces. Areas that successfully prevent dumping of construction materials such as cement, bricks, and debris on roads, and undertake beautification of lanes through painting and colouring, will receive 50 marks.
The Mayor also encouraged participants to paint lanes and public spaces in the purple shade inspired by the Kopou Phool, a flower closely associated with Assam’s Bihu festival. This special category alone will carry 50 marks.
The total score for the competition will be 150 marks.
The competition will be conducted separately across GMC’s six divisions. In each division, the first, second, and third prize winners will receive cash awards of ₹3 lakh, ₹2 lakh, and ₹1 lakh respectively, along with certificates. Additionally, three organisations in each division will receive consolation prizes of ₹50,000 each.
The best-performing organisation among all six divisions will receive an additional prize of ₹5 lakh.
Sarania further stated that improved street lighting would contribute significantly to the city’s beautification efforts and assured that GMC would extend support wherever required.
As part of the initiative, around 1,000 Swachh Sakhis from self-help groups will be appointed to oversee cleanliness efforts in approximately 300 households each. They will also monitor door-to-door garbage collection services to ensure effective implementation.
The Mayor also announced that nearly 980 polling stations that successfully planted neem saplings under a plantation drive launched on the birthday of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma would receive incentives of ₹3 lakh. The programme is expected to begin in June.
Additionally, households will be charged ₹30 per month for garbage collection services managed by NGOs. The Swachh Sakhis will supervise the collection process to ensure waste is collected from every household.
The GMC also unveiled a new theme song composed by Commissioner Chinmoy Prakash Phookan. The song will be played by NGOs during garbage collection drives to spread awareness and encourage citizen participation in keeping Guwahati clean.