Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Lucknow Are India’s Cleanest Cities

New Delhi: Ahmedabad has been declared the cleanest city in the country, followed by Bhopal and Lucknow, in the Centre’s annual “Swachh Survekshan” rankings. In a separate elite category, the “Super Swachh League,” Indore, Surat, and Navi Mumbai were named the top-performing cities. President Droupadi Murmu conferred the “Swachh Survekshan 2024–25” awards at a ceremony held in New Delhi on Thursday.

Ahmedabad, Bhopal, and Lucknow were recognised under the category for cities with a population of over 10 lakh. This year, a new category, “Super Swachh League Cities”, was introduced to honour cities that consistently ranked among the top three in their respective categories over the past three years. Indore, Surat, and Navi Mumbai, which have demonstrated sustained excellence, were felicitated under this category. Last year, Indore and Surat were jointly recognised as the cleanest cities, with Indore maintaining the top position for the seventh consecutive year. In total, 23 “Super Swachh League Cities” were felicitated in the presence of Union Ministers Manohar Lal Khattar and Tokhan Sahu.

Seventy-eight awards were presented this year across four main categories:

• Super Swachh League Cities.

• Top three clean cities in five population-based categories.

• Special category awards: Including Ganga Towns, Cantonment Boards, Safai Mitra Suraksha, and Mahakumbh.

• State-Level Awards: Recognising Promising Clean Cities from each state or Union Territory.

Under the newly introduced ‘Super Swachh League’ for cities with a population between three to 10 lakh, Noida emerged as the cleanest, followed by Chandigarh and Mysuru.

Speaking at the event, President Droupadi Murmu said that “Swachh Survekshan” has proven to be a successful initiative in assessing and encouraging cities’ efforts toward cleanliness. She noted that the 2024 edition, conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, was the world’s largest cleanliness survey, with participation from various stakeholders, state governments, urban local bodies, and approximately 14 crore citizens.

The President emphasised the importance of minimising waste and reusing resources. “The basic principles of a circular economy, reduce, reuse, and recycle, are modern expressions of our ancient lifestyle,” she said. She highlighted that source segregation is the first and most crucial step in the waste management value chain and urged all households and stakeholders to give it top priority. She also praised the emergence of zero-waste colonies as exemplary models.

Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar presented the ‘Best Ganga Town’ award to Prayagraj, while the Secunderabad Cantonment Board was honoured as the ‘Best Cantonment Board’ for its exceptional sanitation efforts. GVMC Visakhapatnam, Jabalpur, and Gorakhpur were named ‘Best Safai Mitra Surakshit Shehars’ for their outstanding commitment to the safety and dignity of sanitation workers.

A special recognition was given to the Prayagraj Mela Adhikari and the Prayagraj Municipal Corporation for their exemplary urban waste management during the Mahakumbh, regarded as the world’s largest human gathering, with an estimated footfall of 66 crore people.

Launching the Swachh City Partnership initiative, minister Khattar emphasised the importance of peer learning. He announced that all 78 top-performing cities would adopt and mentor one low-performing city from their respective states.

“Zaroorat hai sab ko saath lekar chalne ki (There is a need to take everyone along). The winning cities will guide, handhold, and lead the way for others. It’s time to bring low-performing cities to the top,” he said.

He also announced the Accelerated Dumpsite Remediation Programme, a one-year special initiative starting from August 15. The programme aims to fast-track the remediation of legacy waste, unlock vast urban spaces, and expand scientific waste processing capacities.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs noted that this year’s survey not only refined the framework for large cities but also simplified it for smaller ones, giving them a level playing field to compete. Following the ‘One City, One Award’ principle, the top-performing city from each state was recognised as a “Promising Swachh Shehar.” In total, 34 cities across various states and Union Territories received this distinction for their significant progress in urban cleanliness and sanitation excellence.