Navi Mumbai recognised as India’s cleanest city in latest Swachh Survekshan

Navi Mumbai has been adjudged the cleanest city in India at a central government awards programme, while Gujarat’s Surat was second and Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh finished third.

Among cities with a population between three lakh and 10 lakh, Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain emerged as the cleanest urban centre, followed by the UT of Chandigarh and Guntur in Andhra Pradesh.

Indore, which had been ranked the cleanest city in the country for the past eight years, did not figure among the toppers this year.

The awards were presented by President Droupadi Murmu at an event held here.

Rewa, another city in Madhya Pradesh, emerged as the cleanest riverfront town, followed by Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) and Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) in second and third place, respectively.

In the 10 lakh-plus population category, Greater Visakhapatnam emerged as the cleanest city, followed by Jabalpur and Lucknow.

According to the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry, in the Swachh Coastal Town category, Puri in Odisha was ranked first, followed by Kerala’s Alappuzha and Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri.

Rudrapur, in Uttarakhand, emerged as the cleanest Himalayan city, while Jammu secured the second position.

Last year, Indore had topped the league, followed by Surat and Navi Mumbai. Jaipur was recognised as the cleanest city in Rajasthan, while Gwalior received the distinction in Madhya Pradesh.

Swachh Survekshan is Swacch Bharat Mission-Urban’s flagship cleanliness assessment, with the goal of improving urban sanitation, hygiene, and waste management. Over 4,751 cities participated in the latest edition.

Swachh Survekshan made several key enhancements for the 2025-26 awards, including greater emphasis on citizen feedback, expanded coverage of Urban River Fronts, Coastlines and Water bodies and focused indicators on prevention of open defecation and open urination, cleanliness of tourist and heritage hotspots, and behaviour change initiatives in schools.