NEW DELHI: Indore has retained the coveted cleanest city title in India despite it competing in the special category ‘Super Swachh League’ category created this year to recognize and reward towns consistently demonstrating excellence in sanitation and waste management.
The announcement was made on Thursday as part of the Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 Awards. Indore won the Swachh Survekshan title last year for the seventh time in a row.
The "Super Swachh League" category, introduced this year, recognizes cities that have consistently ranked among the top three in the Swachh Survekshan rankings for at least three consecutive years.
In the same special category - cities with population more than 10 lakh - Surat bagged the second position, followed by Navi Mumbai and Vijayawada. Noida clinched the top spot in the ‘3 to 10 lakh population’ group, while New Delhi emerged as the leader in the ‘cities with populations between 50,000 and 3 lakh’ category.
President Droupadi Murmu conferred the Awards at a function hosted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in New Delhi.
In the ‘Swachh Shahar’ (clean city) category for cities with more than 10 lakh population, Ahmedabad stands the first position followed by Bhopal and Lucknow in the annual survey. In total, 43 awards were announced, with a special recognition for Mahakumbh.
A special recognition was accorded to Uttar Pradesh government, Prayagraj Mela Adhikari (Prayagraj Fair Officer), and Prayagraj Municipal Corporation, for its exceptional urban waste management during the Mahakumbh, the congregation, which witnessed an estimated footfall of 66 crore people.
“This year’s Swachh Survekshan (survey) not only refined and streamlined the framework for big cities, but also simplified it for small cities, encouraging them to compete and climb the ladder of swachhata. The smaller cities found a level playing ground with big cities in the survey.
Following the ‘One City, One Award’ principle, the top-performing cities from each State were recognized as Promising Swachh Shehars,” said ministry officials.
Speaking at the ceremony, Murmu said that “waste is best” is the mantra and it gives strength to circularity in the economy. “I am heartened to see that cities have embraced the principles of a circular economy and swachhata (cleanliness) as part of our swabhav (temperament), swabhav and sanskaar (values).”
Union minister for housing and urban affairs Manohar Lal presented the award for Best Ganga Town to Prayagraj, while Secunderabad Cantonment was honoured as the Best Cantonment Board for its exemplary sanitation efforts.
According to the ministry, 14 crore people participated in the survey through face-to-face interactions, the Swachhata App, MyGov, and social media platforms in over 4,500 cities.