Ambikapur bags 5-star rating for being 'garbage-free' city

RAIPUR: Ambikapur in North Chhattisgarh bagged five-star rating and was adjudged a 'garbage free' city by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry in its rankings of cities released on Tuesday.


A year ago, Surguja town had bagged the second position in Swachh Survekshan for having no open dumping yards and was later famously known as zero waste city.

As per Chhattisgarh government official, the union ministry of housing and urban affairs while according five-star rating to Ambikapur in the list of garbage free cities has rated nine urban areas of the state have been rated with three star and five regions with one star.

In the list of garbage free cities, the cities of the state that have received 'three stars' include Barsur, Bhilai Nagar, Bilaspur, Jashpur Nagar, Narharpur, Patan, Raigarh, Rajnandgaon and Sargwan.

At the same time, Barmakela, Berla, Chikhalakasa, Katghora, Pakhanjur have got 'one star' rating. Ambikapur, a town of less than two lakh population in Chhattisgarh, is leading the way in modern garbage collection and disposal. Its solid waste management has emerged as a model for other states and was featured in discussions in the Parliament in December 2019.

It has the country's first digital garbage management system, has freed itself of dustbins. The city recently launched a Garbage Cafe, where you get a full meal in exchange for 1kg of plastic waste.