Mysuru: The story of a clean city in India

Namrata Mhaddolkar, Hiroshan Hettiarachchi

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterResearch

Abstract

Mysuru, a mid-size city, was crowned as the cleanest city in India in 2016 when it participated in a country-wide cleanliness survey called Swachh Survekshan (SS). SS has now grown into a much more competitive annual event, but Mysuru continues to maintain a position as one of the cleanest cities in India. Mysuru’s success is mainly due to the methodical proactive actions taken over the past two decades in managing its Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). However, this success achieved in the past 20 years is very much built on and benefitted from the city’s centuries-old philosophy of wanting to be a clean city. The same has also made a city population that has high MSW management awareness and eagerness to participate. This makes Mysuru a story worth telling. Mysuru is a good example for other cities to learn about the importance of waste management in achieving SDG 11. How Mysuru created jobs and an income through recycling/composting shows us that MSW management through circular means goes far beyond pollution control aspects, to also address socioeconomic aspects of sustainability. As this study shows, Mysuru is hardly perfect, but it is already on the right path and much ahead of many of its peer cities.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationSDG11, Sustainable Cities and Communities
Subtitle of host publicationMoving forward with the Circular Economy
EditorsShyama V. Ramani, Hiroshan Hettiarachchi
Place of PublicationLondon
Chapter3
Pages37-57
Number of pages21
Edition1
ISBN (Electronic)9781003205975
Publication statusPublished - 17 Jun 2022

Keywords

  • SDG 11
  • Waste management

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