Navi Mumbai has emerged as India’s cleanest city in the Swachh Survekshan 2025-26, ending Indore’s eight-year run at the top of the national cleanliness rankings. Surat secured the second position, followed by Vijayawada in third place.
The awards were presented by President Droupadi Murmu at a ceremony attended by representatives from urban local bodies across the country. More than 4,700 urban local bodies participated in this year’s survey.
Indore, which had topped the rankings for eight consecutive years, was placed in a separate Mentor City category under the newly introduced ‘Swachh Shehar Jodi’ initiative. It secured the second position alongside its partner town, Depalpur. Ahmedabad topped the category with Sanand, while Tirupati and Kuppam secured third place.
Several cities also led rankings across specialised categories. Rewa in Madhya Pradesh was named the cleanest riverfront town, followed by Bilaspur and Varanasi. Puri topped the Swachh Coastal Town category, with Alappuzha and Ratnagiri taking the next two positions.
Rudrapur emerged as the cleanest Himalayan city, followed by Jammu and Shopian. Among cities with populations exceeding 10 lakh, Greater Visakhapatnam secured the top position, while Ujjain led the category for cities with populations between 3 lakh and 10 lakh.
The survey, conducted by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry, carried the theme ‘Swachhata Ki Nayi Pehel – Badhayein Haath, Karein Safai Saath’. More than 3,000 trained assessors carried out on-ground evaluations, supported by GPS-enabled monitoring and a digital assessment process.
The ministry also reported improvements among cities participating in the mentorship initiative. Visible cleanliness scores rose from 48% in 2024-25 to 70% in 2025-26, while door-to-door waste collection increased from 52% to 74%. Improvements were also recorded in source segregation, access to sanitation, used water management and public advocacy for cleanliness.
Source: NDTV, with inputs from PTI
