Raipur, 27 July 2025: Achieving a historic achievement in the field of cleanliness, Bilha Nagar Panchayat of Chhattisgarh has secured the first position in the whole of India in the category of cities with a population of less than 20,000 in the Swachhta Survey 2024–25. For this achievement, Bilha Nagar Panchayat was honored by Her Excellency President of India Draupadi Murmu in a grand award ceremony held at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi on 17 July 2025. Today, the echo of this glorious achievement reached the national platform of ‘Mann Ki Baat’, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji praised the innovation and hard work done by the women of Bilha Nagar Panchayat in the 124th edition of his monthly radio program ‘Mann Ki Baat’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the women of Bilha were given training in waste management and together they changed the picture of the city. This mention is a proud moment for the entire Chhattisgarh, which has adopted cleanliness not only as a government scheme but also as a community movement.
The population of Bilha Nagar Panchayat is about 15,000, where 28 Swachhata Didi’s are working. These Didi’s collect garbage through e-rickshaws by going door to door in 15 wards of the city and then take the garbage to the SLRM center and separate wet and dry garbage. Compost is made from wet garbage and by selling dry garbage, these women are becoming financially self-reliant. Apart from this, 10 special Swachhata Commandos have also been appointed in Bilha Nagar who are doing the work of garbage cleaning and public awareness by roaming around the city through tractors and auto tippers. Today, the city residents have been inspired to separate the garbage and give it to the e-rickshaw by Bilha Nagar Panchayat through steps like public awareness campaign, announcement, and garbage collection directly from homes and shops. Collective cleaning campaigns are also run from time to time in Muktidham, pond, garden, community building etc. The credit for this success goes to all the sanitation workers, Swachhta Didi, Nagar Panchayat officials, employees and positive thinking public representatives, who are working with constant inspection and commitment.
It is worth mentioning that there are more than 2000 urban bodies in India with a population of less than 20,000. This honor has been received on the basis of testing of the sanitation system through independent agencies by the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, which included door-to-door garbage collection, road sweeping, night sweeping, garbage disposal, cleanliness of toilets and parks, including feedback from the public.
On this occasion, Deputy Chief Minister Arun Saw, Nagar Panchayat Bilha President Vandana Jendre, Chief Municipal Officer Praveen Singh Gehlot, Vice President Satish Sharma, PIC member Mohan Dhoria, then Deputy Engineer Narendra Dubey, Sanitation Inspector Yashwant Singh, Sanitation Supervisor Rakesh Dagor, Swachhta Didi Pooja Rathore and PIU Ankit Dubey were specially present in the function organized at Vigyan Bhawan.
Congratulating on this achievement, Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai said that the record set by Bilha Nagar Panchayat in the field of cleanliness is a matter of pride for the entire Chhattisgarh. By securing first place among cities with less than 20,000 population across the country in the Swachhta Survey 2024–25 of the Government of India, Bilha has not only increased the prestige of the state, but has also proved that any goal can be achieved with determination, participation and service spirit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi praising the women of Bilha and their cleanliness innovation in the ‘Mann Ki Baat’ program makes this achievement historic at the national level. This is a proud moment for the entire Chhattisgarh. Deputy Chief Minister and Urban Administration Minister Arun Sao said that Bilha Nagar Panchayat has increased the prestige of Chhattisgarh in the entire country by securing first place in the Swachhta Survey 2024–25 in the whole of India. This success is a living example of the commitment, work style and public participation of our urban bodies. This achievement will also give new inspiration to other municipal bodies of the state and together we will work continuously to keep Chhattisgarh among the leading states of the country in cleanliness.