Centre Hails Telangana's Swachhata Drive

Hyderabad:The Centre has lauded Telangana for emerging as a model for citizen-driven urban sanitation under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) 2.0.

The Union ministry of housing and urban affairs on Monday highlighted the state's success in transforming public participation into sustained action through its structured information, education and communication (IEC) campaigns. It said Telangana's innovative approach to community engagement had delivered measurable improvements in urban cleanliness, public health and sustainable waste management.

The Centre said that while the Swachh Bharat Mission had evolved into the world's largest behavioural change movement in sanitation, SBM-U 2.0 had further strengthened the focus on responsible waste management by encouraging active citizen participation.

Telangana has been recognised for placing behavioural change and community ownership at the heart of its urban sanitation strategy, ensuring that cleanliness initiatives have grown beyond awareness campaigns into a people's movement.

As part of this effort, the state implemented a comprehensive 100-day action plan from June 2 to September 10, 2025, across urban local bodies (ULBs), focusing on sanitation, environmental protection and public health. The campaign began with large-scale public mobilisation, drawing 36,900 participants to rallies covering nearly 250 km, reflecting widespread community support for the Swachhata movement.

A key component of the campaign was an extensive door-to-door awareness drive promoting source segregation of waste and home composting. The initiative reached 27 lakh households across urban Telangana, encouraging residents to adopt sustainable waste management practices. The Centre said the grassroots intervention played a vital role in strengthening civic responsibility for cleaner neighbourhoods.

The campaign also combined environmental conservation with women's empowerment through the 'Amrut Mitra – Women for Trees' initiative. According to the Centre, 24,708 saplings were planted with the participation of 10,704 women from self-help groups (SHGs). On World Environment Day, another 13,488 citizens joined rallies covering 113 km across the state's urban centres, reinforcing Telangana's commitment to greener cities.

The state also organised health camps for 25,386 frontline sanitation workers, providing medical check-ups and health support. At the same time, 18,351 km of stormwater drains and nalas were cleaned to help prevent urban flooding and reduce water-borne and vector-borne diseases.

Public health interventions formed another key part of the campaign. More than 15.02 lakh households were sensitised to seasonal disease prevention, while 621 overhead drinking water tanks were cleaned to improve access to safe drinking water in urban areas.

The campaign also linked sanitation with economic empowerment. Loans worth ₹1,045.04 crore were disbursed to 8,546 women's SHGs, while products made by these groups were showcased at street food festivals and melas, generating sales worth ₹77.12 lakh.

Building on the success of the initiative, Telangana launched a focused 99-day action plan from March to June to further strengthen urban sanitation, water supply, heat mitigation, governance reforms and citizen engagement. The campaign included awareness programmes covering more than 6.5 lakh households on source segregation and home composting, 194 cleanliness drives, Swachhata rallies, Sunday Funday community activities, health camps for sanitation workers and pledge campaigns involving more than 22,482 citizens.

The Union ministry said Telangana's sustained emphasis on behavioural change and citizen participation had made the state a leading example of effective implementation of SBM-U 2.0 in the country.