NEW DELHI: Indore has been ranked the country's cleanest city for the fifth consecutive year by Swachh Survekshan, the Centre's flagship annual cleanliness survey. The findings were released on Saturday by President Ram Nath Kovind.
Surat and Vijaywada were ranked second and third, respectively, among cities with a population of over 1 million. Among cities with population between 1-10 lakh, New Delhi ranked first followed by Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh and Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh.
Cities and towns in India are awarded the title of 'Swachh Cities' on the basis of cleanliness and sanitation drives as a part of the Swachh Bharat Mission.
Varanasi, PM Narendra Modi's constituency, won the cleanest Ganga town awards. As per the Swachh Survekshan Survey 2021 report, cities including Patna, Chennai, Madurai, Srinagar, Faridabad and North Delhi are at the bottom of the list of cities with a population over one million.
Taking to Twitter, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri congratulated Indore and its "people, political leadership and municipal corporation", among others. In the state awards, Chhattisgarh emerged the 'Cleanest State' in the category of "more than 100 Urban Local Bodies" for the third straight time.
Jharkhand won the Cleanest State award in the "less than 100 Urban Local Bodies category". Karnataka and Mizoram became the 'Fastest Mover States' in the big (more than 100 ULBs) and small (less than 100 ULBs) state category.
Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, having more than 100 urban local bodies, were adjudged the second and third cleanest state. In the category of states with less than 100 urban local bodies, Jharkhand was ranked first, followed by Haryana and Goa.
Vita city of Maharashtra has been named ranked the cleanest city with a population of less than one lakh, followed by Lonavala and Sasvad, in the same state.
New Delhi Municipal Council secured first position in the cleanest small city category (1-3 lakh population). Hoshangawad and Tirupati were named the "Fastest Mover Small City" and "Best Small City in Citizens' Feedback" categories, respectively. Ahmedabad Cantonment won the title of ‘India’s Cleanest Cantonment', followed by Meerut and Delhi.
Noida emerged as the country's "cleanest medium city" in the category of 3-10 lakh population. Navi Mumbai bagged first place in the category of 'Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge'. It also got first position as India’s ‘cleanest big city’ with a population between 10 and 40 lakh.