New Delhi: Tarakeswar in West Bengal has received national recognition for its cleanliness and municipal management under the Swachh Survekshan 2025-26, emerging as the state’s best-performing urban local body among 130 cities assessed.
President Droupadi Murmu presented the award at a ceremony held at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on November 11. West Bengal Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Agnimitra Paul received the recognition on behalf of the town.
Paul credited Tarakeswar’s residents, sanitation workers and municipal employees for the achievement, saying it reflected collective efforts rather than the work of any single department.
She said the recognition should encourage civic authorities, sanitation personnel and residents to continue improving cleanliness and urban services across the state.
How Tarakeswar Managed Waste During Shravani Mela
The recognition is significant for Tarakeswar, a major pilgrimage destination that experiences a substantial rise in visitors during the annual Shravani Mela. The increase in pilgrim numbers places additional demands on the town’s sanitation and waste-management arrangements.
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During the festival, the municipality organised its sanitation operations through a dedicated workforce and zone-based deployment.
Key arrangements included:
- 10 sanitation zones: The town was divided into 10 zones to manage cleaning operations.
- 180 sanitation workers: Personnel were deployed in two shifts under the supervision of 14 supervisors.
- Waste clearance: More than 1,500 metric tonnes of waste was reportedly cleared during and after the festival.
- Scientific waste processing: Over 500 metric tonnes of waste generated during the mela was transported to the Baidyabati Regional Waste Management Centre for processing.
These arrangements were aimed at managing the additional sanitation requirements associated with the annual pilgrimage season.
What Is Swachh Survekshan?
Swachh Survekshan is the annual cleanliness assessment conducted under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. It evaluates urban local bodies on different aspects of sanitation, waste management and civic services.
The 2025-26 edition was the 10th edition of the survey. According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, urban local bodies were assessed using 43 indicators across 10 broad areas.
The assessment covered:
- Waste segregation, collection and transportation.
- Solid waste management and visible cleanliness.
- Access to sanitation facilities.
- Mechanisation of desludging services.
- Used-water and wastewater management.
- Institutional arrangements and strengthening of sanitation systems.
- Public awareness and citizen participation.
- Welfare of sanitation workers.
- Citizen feedback and grievance redressal.
More than 3,000 trained assessors conducted field-level evaluations across the country, supported by GPS-enabled monitoring and a digital verification process.
Agnimitra Paul Calls Recognition a Collective Achievement
Speaking after receiving the award, Paul said the honour belonged to the people of Tarakeswar and the municipal workers who had contributed to maintaining cleanliness in the town.
She also said that recent measures by the West Bengal government had helped bring more urban local bodies from the state into the national cleanliness assessment.
The minister called for sustained efforts to improve sanitation, civic awareness and urban services, expressing confidence that the recognition would motivate more cities in West Bengal to strengthen their cleanliness initiatives.
Tarakeswar’s award adds a national dimension to the town’s efforts to manage sanitation in a major pilgrimage centre, where large seasonal gatherings place considerable pressure on municipal infrastructure.
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