Swachh Shehar Jodi (SSJ) initiative

Prelims: Current events of national and international events | Government policies and interventions

Why in news?

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) rolls out Swachh Shehar Jodi (SSJ) initiative for urban waste management mentorship initiative.

SSJ – It is a new initiative to improve waste management and sanitation in cities through a mentorship program.
Launched by - Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
Launched on - September 27, 2025.
Implemented under – Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban (SBM-U).
Objectives – The program pairs high-performing "mentor" cities with lower-ranked "mentee" cities to facilitate knowledge sharing and replicate best practices.
To support comparitively low performing cities in improving their swachhata performance by drawing on the experience of mentor cities to
- Replicate tested best practices in sanitation and waste management.
- Strengthen processes in mentee cities.
- Support the waste processing set up to improve visible cleanliness.
- Improve citizen engagement for responsible behavior change for swachhata.
Key focus areas - Visible cleanliness, waste segregation and transport, scientific processing of waste, access to sanitation, used water management, mechanised desludging, citizen advocacy, and grievance redressal.
Features -

Selection of mentor & mentee cities – Based on their performance in the Swachh Survekshan (SS) rankings, top-performing cities have been identified as mentor cities and paired with low-performing mentee cities.
As of 27, September, 2025, 21 states and 57 mentor cities have joined to guide a total of 163 mentee cities.
100-day program – The Ministry has launched a 100-day program, to showcase the impact of city-to-city mentorship in driving urban transformation.
Action Plan – Each pair will jointly prepare action plans with specific milestones to address urban waste management challenges and focusing on experience sharing and knowledge transfer.

Funding – Both mentor and mentee cities may utilize the Capacity Building (CB) Funds allocated to each State/UT as part of SBM-U 2.0.
Expected Outcomes – The program’s effectiveness will be monitored and evaluated during the SS ranking, 2026 rankings and expected to show measurable improvements across the focus areas.

Quick Facts

Swachh Survekshan

World’s largest annual urban cleanliness survey.
Conducted by – Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
Purpose – To evaluate cities and towns on their sanitation, waste management, and cleanliness practices, fostering competition and encouraging citizen participation.

References