Swachh Shehar Jodi (SSJ) Initiative (Government Schemes & Initiatives)
Swachh Shehar Jodi (SSJ) Initiative (Government Schemes & Initiatives)
Why In News:
The Swachh Shehar Jodi (SSJ) initiative, launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, pairs high-performing and low-performing cities in a structured mentorship programme, with its outcomes due to be evaluated in the run-up to Swachh Survekshan 2026.
About the Initiative
Swachh Shehar Jodi (SSJ) is a city-to-city mentorship programme under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) 2.0.
It was launched in 2025 at Sonipat, Haryana, by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
The programme pairs better-performing mentor cities with relatively weaker-performing mentee cities to facilitate the transfer of practical knowledge and successful urban sanitation practices.
The initiative follows the principle of Antyodaya, with the objective of ensuring that improvement in urban sanitation reaches cities across the performance spectrum.
Structure & Implementation
The SSJ framework pairs 72 mentor cities with around 200 mentee cities, with selection based primarily on their performance in Swachh Survekshan.
The mentee cities are selected from cities that can benefit from the mentorship, with emphasis on improving their sanitation and waste-management performance through peer learning, capacity building and adoption of best practices.
Cities belonging to the Super Swachh League serve as the principal pool of high-performing cities for mentorship.
Each mentor–mentee pair prepares a time-bound action plan covering areas such as waste management, sanitation and citizen participation.
Capacity Building Funds under SBM-U 2.0 can be utilised by cities for activities undertaken through the SSJ programme.
Swachh Survekshan & SBM-U 2.0
Swachh Survekshan is an annual urban cleanliness assessment conducted by MoHUA, first launched in 2016.
SSJ's performance is intended to be reflected in the Swachh Survekshan 2026 assessment, making the survey an important monitoring mechanism for the initiative.
SBM-U 2.0, launched in 2021, focuses on making cities garbage-free, with emphasis on source segregation, scientific waste processing, wastewater management and remediation of legacy dumpsites.
Swachh Survekshan is primarily an assessment and ranking exercise, whereas SBM-U 2.0 is a broader urban sanitation and waste-management mission.
Key facts for Prelims
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is the nodal Union ministry for major urban development and sanitation programmes, including SBM-U and AMRUT.
AMRUT 2.0 primarily addresses urban water security, water supply and sewerage/septage management, complementing SBM-U 2.0's focus on sanitation and solid waste.
Article 243W of the Constitution provides for the devolution of powers and responsibilities to municipalities, including functions listed in the Twelfth Schedule.
Solid waste management is included among the municipal functions in the Twelfth Schedule, subject to devolution by State legislatures.