Garbage Free City Star Rating
Also called: GFC rating · Topic: Urban Local Government: Municipalities and Cities · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Garbage Free City (GFC) Star Rating is a test under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U). It is run by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). It gives a city stars, up to a top level of seven stars, based on how well it handles its waste. The checks cover whether homes sort their waste (segregation), whether the city treats it (processing), and how clean the streets are. SBM-U 2.0 (1 October 2021-2026) aims to make cities "garbage-free", and this rating measures progress toward that goal. It comes from an executive scheme, not from any Act. Even so, it tests a duty the 74th Amendment gives to municipalities: solid waste management, which is listed in the Twelfth Schedule.
Example
Take a city that sweeps its roads and collects garbage from every house but dumps half of it at an open landfill. It may look clean, but it cannot climb to a high star level. Higher stars depend on waste being sorted and treated, not just moved out of sight.
Don't confuse with
- Swachh Survekshan: a yearly cleanliness ranking in which cities compete against each other (since 2016). The GFC rating is a certification. A city earns stars by meeting a fixed standard, whatever other cities score.
- ODF+/ODF++ certification: these check toilets and the end of open defecation. The GFC rating checks garbage.