Surat’s sporadic expansion between the 80’s and the 90’s resulted in a major service gap in the field of solid waste management (SWM). It resulted in one of the major epidemic in the form of Plague in the year 1994, which was probably the worst in the country in decades. As Plague was considered a manifestation of the service inabilities related to solid waste and drainage management, the city administration responded with a major cleanliness drive and a complete strategy to further manage its waste in scientific manner. Major administrative reforms like; re-arranging the six zones into 52 sanitary wards to gain better control, regular monitoring of waste management services, one-to-one coverage of all the nuisance points by sweepers, seeking assistance from private agencies in maintaining cleanliness, providing
waste management services, slum improvement, and a responsive waste management system reducing time lag in delivery of services, etc., were some of the major initiatives taken by the city.