AP Cities Breathe Easier, CM Seeks Cleaner Air
CM Chandrababu Naidu urges cities to intensify efforts to improve air quality after AP records its best-ever Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan performance.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has praised the cities in Andhra Pradesh for their “improved performance” in the Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2026, while directing collectors and municipal administrations to intensify their efforts to improve air quality in cities.
While the overall scenario has improved, the air quality in some cities, he said, remained static or slipped in the rankings.
Reviewing the performance of urban local bodies on the second day of the district collectors’ conference at the Secretariat on Friday, Naidu noted that eight of the state’s 13 non-attainment cities had improved their all-India rankings over the previous assessment cycle.
Eluru recorded the sharpest improvement, jumping from the 31st rank in 2025 to the fourth in 2026. Guntur moved from the sixth to the second position nationally, while Vijayawada improved from the 13th to eighth and Nellore from the 18th to ninth. Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Chittoor and Anantapur were the other cities that showed improvement.
The chief minister said the gains reflected sustained city-level interventions and stressed that clean air should not be viewed merely as a ranking parameter but as a key component of public health, quality of life and sustainable urban development.
He directed collectors of the cities that showed no improvement or a decline to identify pollution sources, assess implementation gaps and take corrective measures within specified timelines.
The CM called for data-driven monitoring, stronger enforcement and coordinated interventions.
Andhra Pradesh recorded its best-ever SVS performance, with all 13 non-attainment cities participating in city and ward-level assessments. The state secured five awards carrying a total sum of `1.05 crore.
Guntur won the second rank nationally in the 3–10 lakh city category and `25 lakh. Vijayawada’s Ward-60 secured second rank nationally in the 10,000–30,000 category, winning `30 lakh. Guntur and Vijayawada also won state-level ward awards worth `25 lakh and `15 lakh respectively, while Nellore secured a `10-lakh state award.
The national awards were presented in New Delhi on September 7.
Naidu asked the teams to sustain the momentum and directed collectors to ensure that all cities in the state emerge among the best in the Liveability Index.