Basic Info

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Nominee Information

Institutional Information

Member State India
Institution Name State Urban Development Agency (SUDA)
Institution Type Public Agency
Administrative Level Regional
Name of initiative Cleanliness Survey
Projects Operational Years 4
Website of Institution https://uad.cg.gov.in/

Question 1: About the Initiative

Is this a public sector initiative? Yes

Question 2: Categories

Is the initiative relevant to one of the UNPSA categories? Category 1: Fostering innovation to deliver inclusive and equitable services
UNPSACriteria
NoItems

Question 3: Sustainable Development Goals

Is the initiative relevant to any of the 17 SDG(s)? Yes
If you answered yes above, please specify which SDG is the most relevant to the initiative. (hold Ctrl to select multiple)
Goal 1: No Poverty
Goal 3: Good Health
Goal 5: Gender Equality
Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities
Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
Goal 13: Climate Action
Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals
Which target(s) within the SDGs specified above is the initiative relevant to? (hold Ctrl to select multiple)
1.1 By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a day
1.2 By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions
1.4 By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including microfinance
1.5 By 2030, build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters
3.8 Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all
3.9 By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination
3.c Substantially increase health financing and the recruitment, development, training and retention of the health workforce in developing countries, especially in least developed countries and small island developing States
5.4 Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate
5.a Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws
5.b Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women
5.c Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels
6.2 By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations
6.b Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management
7.1 By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services
7.2 By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix
7.a By 2030, enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology, including renewable energy, energy efficiency and advanced and cleaner fossil-fuel technology, and promote investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology
9.1 Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and trans-border infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all
9.3 Increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises, in particular in developing countries, to financial services, including affordable credit, and their integration into value chains and markets
9.4 By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes, with all countries taking action in accordance with their respective capabilities
9.a Facilitate sustainable and resilient infrastructure development in developing countries through enhanced financial, technological and technical support to African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States
9.b Support domestic technology development, research and innovation in developing countries, including by ensuring a conducive policy environment for, inter alia, industrial diversification and value addition to commodities
10.1 By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average
10.2 By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status
10.4 Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equality
11.6 By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management
11.7 By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities
13.1 Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries
13.2 Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning
13.3 Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning
13.b Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities
17.3 Mobilize additional financial resources for developing countries from multiple sources
17.7 Promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries on favourable terms, including on concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed
17.8 Fully operationalize the technology bank and science, technology and innovation capacity-building mechanism for least developed countries by 2017 and enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology
17.9 Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the Sustainable Development Goals, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation
17.14 Enhance policy coherence for sustainable development
17.16 Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in all countries, in particular developing countries
17.17 Encourage and promote effective public, publicprivate and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships
17.18 By 2020, enhance capacity-building support to developing countries, including for least developed countries and small island developing States, to increase significantly the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by income, gender, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts

Question 4: Implementation Date

Has the initiative been implemented for two or more years Yes
Please provide date of implemenation (dd/MM/yyyy) 02 Oct 2016

Question 5: Partners

Has the United Nations or any UN agencies been involved in this initiative? Yes
Which UN agency was involved? (hold Ctrl to select multiple)
United Nations Children’s Fund
Please provide details UNICEF has been providing technical assistance to Government of Chhattisgarh to address the state's intricate sanitation issues and acknowledged as preferred partner for Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Additionally, UNICEF is also aiding selected ULBs through its WASH response to COVID 19 project with a special focus on Social Behaviour Change Communication by sensitizing people at slum level in coordination with officials with designed departments.

Question 6: Previous Participation

1. Has the initiative submitted an application for consideration in the past 3 years (2017-2019)? No

Question 7: UNPSA Awards

Has the initiative already won a UNPS Award? No

Question 8: Other Awards

Has the initiative won other Public Service Awards? Yes
If yes, please specify name, organisation and year. Award - Swachh Survekshan -India's Cleanest State Organization - Gov. of India Year - 2019, '20, '21

Question 9: How did you learn about UNPSA?

How did you learn about UNPSA? INTERNET

Question 10: Validation Consent

I give consent to contact relevant persons and entities to inquire about the initiative for validation purpose. Yes

Nomination form

Questions/Answers

Question 1

Please briefly describe the initiative, what issue or challenge it aims to address and specify its objectives (300 words maximum)
The State Urban Development Agency (SUDA), under the Government of Chhattisgarh, initiated Asia's largest decentralized waste management model entirely administered by Women Self-Help Groups (SHG) under the campaign of Mission Clean City (MCC) to address the state's enormous waste management and sanitation issues, aligning with the UN 2030 agenda. The transformational interventions and commercialization strategies have accelerated the primary aim to catalyze the most significant change of improvising urban waste management and sanitation practices by developing sustainable, inclusive sanitation systems and uplifting an underprivileged section of society. An ecosystem based on the principles of 'sustainable development, 'safeguards', and 'polluter pays' was augmented. Consequentially, Chhattisgarh state got recognized as the cleanest state of India three consecutive times in the world's biggest sanitation survey. A multi-pronged strategy was employed to address massive waste management and sanitation issues by envisaging long-term objectives and redesigning operational strategies in response to evolving lifestyles, as well as resolving the 'NIMBY syndrome.' The model's distinguishing elements include the 6R paradigm, making it a self-sustaining and Circular Economy based approach. Subsequently, through the transformation of landfill sites into green spaces, Chhattisgarh became India's first Zero Landfill state. Before the initiative, more than 6.5 million of the urban population was prone to insanitary conditions, resulting in thousands of citizens dying due to various life-threatening diseases and skin infections. Solving this plethora of issues, a functional initiative was pondered through the novel Hyper Core technology-based faecal sludge management — creating a new era of non-sewered, safe sanitation for all with 100% faecal sludge treatment. The COVID-19 pandemic has created a global emergency crisis in terms of socio-economic-environmental challenges. The Women's SHG has vigorously responded to this unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 by providing uninterrupted services in collecting biomedical waste, municipal solid waste and combatting misinformation to minimize disruption and restore balance.

Question 2

Please explain how the initiative is linked to the selected category (100 words maximum)
With an idea to provide the state's people with an amalgamation of benefits by addressing complex sanitation issues, SUDA initiated MCC. It was accomplished through the convergence of various national and state schemes, creating garbage clinics, setting up India's first Garbage Café to eliminate plastic waste, forming Utensil's bank, etc. Simultaneously, underprivileged women were engaged in the mission, uplifting them socially and financially, thus recognizing them in society. Moreover, a 130 USD honorarium was granted to SHG women, accounting for 89% of India's average monthly per capita income.

Question 3

a. Please specify which SDGs and target(s) the initiative supports and describe concretely how the initiative has contributed to their implementation (200 words maximum)
1. SDG –1 (Target 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.5) – Introduced financial instruments to uplift the socio-economic and financial status of sanitation workforce 2. SDG – 3 (Target 3.8, 3.9, 3.c) Eliminating landfills, regular health check-up of SHG women, linking with various health schemes. 3. SDG – 5 (Target 5.4, 5.a, 5.b, 5.c) - Financial and social security to 10,000+ women workforce and fostering their families. 4. SDG – 6 (Target 6.2, 6.b)- Ensuring 100% faecal sludge treatment and preventing contamination of water bodies. 5. SDG – 7 (Target 7.1, 7.2, 7.a)- Bio methanation and composting processes produces clean energy 6. SDG – 9 (Target 9.1, 9.3, 9.4, 9.a, 9.b) - Employment at very low investment because of its simplistic innovation. 7. SDG – 10 (Target 10.1, 10.2, 10.4) – Ensuring income-potential for SHG women, enacting policy-level interventions to provide socio-economic security 8. SDG – 11 (Target 11.6, 11.7) - Access to inclusive, and accessible green public spaces for 6.5 million people with no adverse impact on the environment. 9. SDG – 13 (Target 13.1, 13.2, 13.3, 13.b) - 6R principle helped in a negligible adverse impact on climate. 10. SDG – 17- Convergence of various State and National level schemes with the support of multilateral agencies across the globe
b. Please describe what makes the initiative sustainable in social, economic and environmental terms (100 words maximum)
Social - This initiative integrates the social and financial realms of design, providing SHGs and their families with regular health checkups, linkage with bank schemes, providing health insurance and enabling digital facilities. Economic - It’s a self-sustained model where O&M cost and the cost for the resources are recovered entirely by selling the dry & wet wastes and by user charge collection, thereby maintaining the capital influx. Environmental - Promoting clean energy for adaptation to climate change, landfill elimination, no more contamination of aquatic bodies due to untreated sewage discharge, and regulated levels of air pollution, enhancing better ecological viability.

Question 4

a. Please explain how the initiative has addressed a significant shortfall in governance, public administration or public service within the context of a given country or region. (200 words maximum)
Disparities in inclusion and diversity prevailed in Chhattisgarh mainly due to the lack of competency, technological advancement, and inadequate income-generating opportunities for the deprived society, as well as in the state's sanitary standards. As a result of the state's dearth of provisions for dealing with domestic waste, a significant amount of land was squandered. With the implementation of this state-wide campaign, it not only prevented this practice, but also helped to reclaim substantial acres of previously exploited land. This campaign addresses societal injustice by providing financial and social security to women in the workforce. It enables them with equitable access and ownership of resources, facilities, and technology-enabled infrastructure by establishing robust policies and frameworks for their operation. Such an initiative integrated entire SHG workforce to several State and National welfare schemes that had traditionally been neglected owing to a lack of awareness and ground-level implementation.
b. Please describe how your initiative addresses gender inequality in the country context. (100 words maximum)
Gender inequalities, disparities, and cultural stereotypes and traditions were widespread in Chhattisgarh, necessitating implementing a comprehensive new approach and tailored solutions. To overcome these constraints, underprivileged women in the society were selected, which helped them excel in a dominant male culture. SUDA provided financial and social security to women's workforce, giving them equal access and ownership to resources, facilities, etc., along with integrating brothel workers with Chhattisgarh's model demonstrating a solid commitment towards 'leaving no one behind' an improvement in gender pay equality has been witnessed. Moreover, Chhattisgarh state is the top-performing state in India on gender equality parameters.
c. Please describe who the target group(s) were, and explain how the initiative improved outcomes for these target groups. (200 words maximum)
This campaign has two principal target audiences: One is the state's urban population, who expect to live in a clean and sanitary environment since it functions as a catalyst for any city to expand, provide a sense of prosperity, and transform behaviour towards cleanliness and hygiene. It has contributed to enhancing the livability parameters of 6.5 million people around the state, provided employment opportunities, and effectively addressed societal injustice. The ground-breaking accomplishment positioned Chhattisgarh as the cleanest state and transformed the entire nation's perspective about the state's pace. The second target group is underprivileged women who struggle to earn a living and enhance their quality of life beyond the facade of their households. These women are determined to go the extra mile to attain the security they deserve; however, they were incapable due to inequality. It culminated in the employment of around 10,000+ deprived women and safeguarded the livelihood of about 45,000 individuals.

Question 5

a. Please describe how the initiative was implemented including key developments and steps, monitoring and evaluation activities, and the chronology. (300 words)
Indian Government kickstarted the world's most extensive cleanliness drive, Swachh Bharat Mission (Mission Clean India), in 2014. Being the developing state and considering how rapid urbanization outraged the demand of solid-liquid waste management, Chhattisgarh faced most challenging concerns, resulting in substandard quality of life, increased pollution, and reduced health standards. To address these pressing issues, a pilot project in the Ambikapur Municipal Corporation was initiated in 2015, and it has now been expanded up to 168 Urban Local Bodies across the state. Ambikapur designed an indigenous and simplistic approach of having a Solid Liquid Resource Management (SLRM) centre administered entirely by SHG. Due to the enormous inter-ULB distance, a decentralized strategy was taken, emphasizing mainstreaming the female workforce and obtaining Zero Landfill status. As a consequence, in 2017, the state became India's first 'Zero Landfill' state. The journey continued, and by 2019, the state had become India's cleanest state. SUDA implemented many flagship schemes to maximize the advantages of current waste management practices and employed innovative tactics such as garbage café, Utensils Bank, Garbage Clinics, Godhanyay Yojana, the convergence of several marquee state and national initiatives, etc. SUDA established more robust and functioning initiatives with a 'people first' centred approach with each successive year by augmenting technology improvements against the evolving population and lifestyles. With SUDA's additional enhanced interventions, Chhattisgarh has reclaimed the top place as the cleanest state for the third time in a row. The initiative's main aspects include: • 100% waste collection, segregation, and processing • Minimal infrastructure setup costs. • The recovery of erstwhile exploited dumpsites. • Selling recyclable materials. • Implementing a waste-to-wealth policy. • An IT-enabled solution for human resources directory and inventory management.
b. Please clearly explain the obstacles encountered and how they were overcome. (100 words)
Following are the challenges encountered during implementation and their subsequent solutions: 1. Mindset and lack of awareness- Conducted a large-scale IEC program utilizing all the available media. 2. Infrastructure deficiency- Encouraged the engagement of private stakeholders. 3. Inconsistency- Drafted Standard operating procedures (SOPs) for operation across every municipalities. 4. Lack of availability of skilled manpower - Conducted Workshops, training programmes, and capacity development. 5. Source Segregation - Distributed twin bins and sensitization on Segregation of waste by SHG women by segregating waste in front of respective households. 6. Sustainability - Developed low-cost self-sustaining models and the sale of recyclable materials.

Question 6

a. Please explain in what ways the initiative is innovative in the context of your country or region. (100 words maximum)
Anticipated novel approaches for transforming state’s waste management practices through robust policies and interventions. Innovative measures like Garbage Café, where food is served against plastic waste- an initiative to eradicate Plastic and address the issue of food access to poor was introduced. Utensils Bank – for eliminating non-reusable cutleries; steel utensils are available for rent at a minimal cost. Further advancements include implementation of novel Hyper core faecal sludge management technology to address intricate sanitation concerns and Godhanyay Yojana scheme, aiming to boost the economy by procuring cow dung from farmers by converting it to compost and other useful products.
b. Please describe, if relevant, how the initiative drew inspiration from successful initiatives in other regions, countries and localities. (100 words maximum)
Ambikapur, a city in the state, devised an indigenous and simplistic system of having a Solid Liquid Resource Management (SLRM) centre that is administered autonomously by SHGs. SLRM centre became a remarkably successful model wherein the waste was split into 156 categories and sold separately. The revenues from sales are entirely distributed among the SHG beneficiaries. The city's success story inspired the state, and eventually, the initiative expanded for the entire state in the form of Mission Clean City.
c. If emerging and frontier technologies were used, please state how those were integrated into the initiative and/or how the initiative embraced digital government. (100 words maximum)
The initiative's key attributes emphasize the critical role of digital technologies as a strategic driver in improving social inclusion and bringing together government and non-government players to develop innovative approaches towards enduring sustainable growth. IT-based human resource and inventory management solutions integrate this into a digital initiative. The provision for indigenous composting of organic waste and the bio-methanation process make it a widely accepted and viable solution that produces no harmful effects on the environment and is sustainable. Another essential element for real-time reporting, resolution & real-time dashboard and MIS is web-based and application-based complaint registration.

Question 7

a. Has the initiative been transferred and/or adapted to other contexts (e.g. other cities, countries or regions) to your organization’s knowledge? If yes, please explain where and how. (200 words maximum)
The campaign was implemented out throughout the state of Chhattisgarh. The Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, recognized it as one of the eight best Solid Waste Management practices. The model was recommended by the Hon. National Green Tribunal of India, an apex committee providing an effective and expeditious solution relating to environmental protection, to be adopted across the country in cities with a population of less than one lakh. Moreover, this model ranks 1st in the hierarchy as per the Recommendations of European Union Directives. Consequently, because of this strategy, Chhattisgarh became the very first state in India to be 100% Open Defecation Free along with safe management and treatment of faecal sludge with no discharging of untreated faecal sludge into water bodies. Progressively, other states have begun to emulate it to achieve a similar designation. Chhattisgarh has established the Swachhta Diksha Centre (a capacity-building training and development facility) for stakeholders participating in sanitation activities. This Centre’s training consists of three courses i.e., for bureaucrats, government executors and ground-level implementers, including SHG women and other sanitation staff. The training is being provided to national and international delegates on the sanitation practices being followed in the state.
b. If not yet transferred/adapted to other contexts, please describe the potential for transferability. (200 words maximum)
On social, economic, and sustainability indicators, the initiative can become adaptable and replicable in nature. The total cost of replicating the initiative for a population size of 35 million people in a state like Chhattisgarh is 35 million USD, which is 35% of the cost of implementing standard centralized Waste to Energy model across the country. This method is effective for a region with waste products of less than 500 tonnes per day, which corresponds to 94% of India's urban areas. Because the model is decentralized, transportation and other overhead costs are relatively low, attempting to make it more replicable.

Question 8

a. What specific resources (i.e. financial, human or others) were used to implement the initiative? (100 words maximum)
For this initiative, human resources in the form of around 10,000 female Self-Help Group workers, government officials from relevant departments, bureaucrats, ministers, and other sanitation teams in the form of private and permanent staff, as well as a Project Management and Implementation Unit, have been appointed. To ensure a minimum additional financial infusion, financial resources in the form of funds from the central government for the Clean India Mission, funds via the convergence of various central and state-level schemes like NULM, the 15th Finance Commission fund, the fund from the Department of Revenue, and so on are allocated.
b. Please explain what makes the initiative sustainable over time, in financial and institutional terms. (100 words maximum)
The total cost of replicating this initiative for a population size of 35 million people in a state like Chhattisgarh is 35 million dollars, which is 35% of the cost of the typical centralized Waste to Energy model used across the country. Because the model is decentralized, transportation and other overhead costs are minimal, making it financially adaptable to any region. As a convergence mechanism, each state in the city receives funds from the various national development schemes used in this initiative. Minimum additional financial infusion, its self-sustainable characteristics and not disrupting the existing institutional setup make this initiative sustainable.

Question 9

a. Was the initiative formally evaluated either internally or externally?
Yes
b. Please describe how it was evaluated and by whom? (100 words maximum)
The survey and evaluation were conducted by 'Ipsos', a global market research firm, which was appointed by the Indian government. The survey's focus areas are as follows: Collect segregated waste and store it until it can be processed, utilize the capacity of wet waste processing plants. Wastewaters treat and reuse wastewater, reduce air pollution, and follow 3 R principles, improve the social status of informal waste collectors, assess Ganga Towns separately to accelerate action, and engage in technology-driven monitoring. Each Urban Local Body and each state are ranked based on cleanliness parameters in this survey.
c. Please describe the indicators and tools used (100 words maximum)
In this yearly assessment, each ULB is evaluated out of 6000 points based on 3 characteristics. Citizen feedback (1800 points), service level progress (SLP) (2400 points), and certification are the parameters (1800 points). SLP scores are the average of each quarter's progress on cleanliness measures. Each ULB produces quarterly reports on it, along with supporting documentation. The certification score is calculated using the Garbage Free City (GFC) star indications and the Open Defecation Free (ODF) status of ULBs. Real-time dashboards and MIS are used for evaluation via web and app-based real-time dashboards.
d. What were the main findings of the evaluation (e.g. adequacy of resources mobilized for the initiative, quality of implementation and challenges faced, main outcomes, sustainability of the initiative, impacts) and how this information is being used to inform the initiative’s implementation. (200 words maximum)
The evaluation for this initiative is an annual event. The Chhattisgarh Government learned its standing on several performance parameters after each survey. Chhattisgarh obtained the highest score on Garbage Free Cities and Open Defecation Free Certification in the 2021 Survey due to continual development over the previous three years due to feedback collected through this evaluation. Initially 623 females had been made a part of this initiative, which kept on growing and presently, the state has 10,000+ women workforce. Various bottlenecks in the form of topography, finance, administrative, lack of competency, infrastructure, obsolete mindset etc. were identified. Citizens Feedback is another tool via which the government learns its people's perceptions of its sanitation activity. The Cleanliness Survey 2021 was digitalized entirely, with all ULBs submitting required submittals online through a dedicated internet website, making it a paperless process and promoting the digitization agenda. The outcome of this evaluation significantly influenced livability standards, gender equality, environmental parameters, and livelihood generation.

Question 10

Please describe how the initiative is inscribed in the relevant institutional landscape (for example, how it was situated with respect to relevant government agencies, and how the institutional relationships with those have been operating). (200 words maximum)
This project served as a convergence for many state and national government initiatives. The state government directs the effort in accordance with the protocols of the central government. At the Directorate level, there are Indian Administrative officers, while at the City level, there are Commissioners/Chief Municipal Officers. The Project Management Unit carries out the mission, and the Project Implementation Unit records each minute activity in the mission. A grievance redressal portal with real-time dashboards is included in the setup to acknowledge and address complaints within the Service Level Agreement duration of 24 hours. The Project Implementation Unit directs the activities of the self-help groups. A group of SHG women creates the Area Level Federation (ALF), while another group of ALF forms the City Level Federation (CLF). These are registered societies that follow the guidelines established in the Chhattisgarh Gazette under a statute. This initiative also covers the guidelines mentioned in the National Policy for the Empowerment of Women (2001), making women self-reliant and secure.

Question 11

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development puts emphasis on collaboration, engagement, partnerships, and inclusion. Please describe which stakeholders were engaged in designing, implementing and evaluating the initiative and how this engagement took place. (200 words maximum)
Following stakeholders are involved, and their roles and collaboration are as follows: 1. Public- Beneficiaries of the initiative whose participation was of utter importance. Their participation is in the form of feedback on the services, usage of the public facilities, responsible disposal of waste, and behavioral change towards cleanliness. 2. Self Help Group of women- They are the pilots of the initiative who take care of the operations and smooth functioning of the system. To strengthen domestic resource mobilization, they are appointed under it, and they are also the beneficiaries via the selling of recyclable waste and generating honorarium. 3. Central & State Government: Government is the responsible body that runs the initiative under set guidelines and protocols. State follows the central government directives and, in turn, is penetrated to each Urban body. 4. Private players- Private players like consultants and contractors support the state government for the designing & implementation. 5. NGOs: NGOs provide a helping hand in conducting the campaigns at the ground level with target groups. 6. Information Education and Communication (IEC): Chhota Bheem, an Indian Cartoon Character, was selected as the brand ambassador for the whole mission and has helped complete behavior change for the Citizens of Chhattisgarh towards sanitation.

Question 12

Please describe the key lessons learned, and how your organization plans to improve the initiative. (200 words maximum)
This initiative contributed to the state's cleanliness status through a large-scale collaboration of numerous parties participating in the project. A comprehensive strategy to increase sanitary standards is essential, and the cooperation of the local populace is critical for the successful implementation of such a wide-scale initiative throughout a broad region like Chhattisgarh. With an agenda of keeping no one behind, one can achieve the state's milestones. Self-Help Groups (SHG), as a team of roughly 10,000 women involved, with a meagre literacy rate and no technical competence, upscaled themselves while making this mission a success. Many challenges were faced during this campaign and overcoming them with the appropriate solutions was acknowledged and implemented. The state team learnt about the SHGs' motivations, and the emphasis was entirely on making this effort owned by those SHGs with active engagement and interest. Factors such as relatability and ownership play a significant function in changing the public's perspective about cleanliness. Recognizing and strengthening the position of the sanitation workforce has been critical to the project's success.

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