Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) has won the best Swacch Iconic Place award for 2019, topping the charts in cleanliness. The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, has declared phase I of the Swacch Icon Awards.
The CSMT topped in phase I from among 10 places selected for the award. The parameters were accomplishment of an action plan, participation or involvement of stakeholders in the execution of action plans, funds leveraged and utilised, cleanliness in the peripheral area, visibility of Swachh Iconic Place, sustainablity of initiatives, and evidence of difference.
The award will be given at a ceremony during the Swacch Mahotsav in Delhi on September 6 and will be received by the Ministry of Railways jointly with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the corporate social responsibility partner.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had selected 100 iconic places all over India, of which 30 were divided in three phases. The CSMT from the first phase was declared as the cleanest place amongst the phase I of Swacch Iconic Places.
Others like Taj Mahal in Agra, Vaishno Devi shrine, Tirupati temple, Golden Temple, Ajmer Sharif Dargah, and Jagannath temple in Puri were among those selected for phase I.
According to a Central Railway (CR) official, several measures were taken to keep the station clean. “Many cleaning experts and engineers were involved in implementing the different techniques and technologies for cleaning. These included horizontal and vertical cleaning methods,” the official said.
“The prestigious award for the CSMT reflects the efforts by the CR team to keep the precincts of the CSMT, a world heritage site, clean as per the standards expected of being the best iconic place,” said CR chief public relations officer Shivaji Sutar.
Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner (solid waste management) of the BMC, said in the first year, the CSMT did not win the award but in the third year, it won among many iconic places. “We had undertaken a number of measures at that time, including removal of unauthorised hawkers, construction of the viewing gallery at the CSMT, and heritage lights. And now, we have made glass-dome subways as well,” he said.