CHENNAI: Chennai has been ranked at the bottom among million-plus cities in the Swachh Vayu Survekshan 2025, an annual ranking by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), released on Tuesday that evaluates cities on their air quality management and pollution control measures.
The city finished 41st out of 41 large cities (population above 10 lakh), with a score of just 115.3, far behind the top-ranked Indore, which secured a perfect score of 200. Other major cities such as Jabalpur, Agra, and Surat also figured in the top three, earning the title of ‘National Clean Air City’.
The survey, part of the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), assessed 130 cities across three categories based on population. Cities were evaluated on multiple parameters including road dust management, vehicular emissions control, industrial emissions, construction dust, solid waste burning, and public awareness campaigns.
While Chennai’s poor ranking highlights the scale of the challenge, the results show a mixed picture for Tamil Nadu overall. Tiruchy performed far better, securing the 9th rank in the million-plus category with a score of 186. It is also the only city in the top 10 from South India.
In contrast, Madurai, another major city, fared poorly, finishing 40th, just ahead of Chennai with a score of 116.1. In the smaller cities category (population below 3 lakh), Thoothukudi was ranked 36th out of 40, with a low score of 125.6.
Officials said Chennai’s struggle reflects long-standing issues with vehicular emissions, construction and road dust, and waste management. Despite several projects under NCAP, including mechanised sweeping, greenbelt development, and stricter enforcement on open burning, progress appears limited.
Environmentalists argue that Chennai’s rapid urbanisation, coupled with poor public transport integration and high dependence on private vehicles, has worsened air pollution levels. “Without decisive measures like strengthening public transport and quicker transition to EVs; controlling construction dust, and moving industries towards cleaner fuels, the situation will only deteriorate,” said an air quality expert from IIT Madras.
Sources told TNIE, so far, Chennai has received `474.65 cr under NCAP and utilised `384.76 crore, of which `337 crore was spent on solid waste collection. Hardly any measures were taken to tackle road dust management even as ongoing metro works choked the interior parts of the city. It is a common sight to see workers sweeping the road with broomsticks releasing clouds of dust, although there are set guidelines on how to deal with the problem.
Senior government officials, however, argue that the city’s PM10 levels have actually seen a marginal dip, but acknowledged that there has to be improvement in other parameters. A few road dust collecting vehicles and water sprinklers were deployed, but not adequately covered. In many areas, the workers merely push the dust to the road side.