The world’s largest Urban cleanliness survey, Swachh Sarvekshan 2024-25 is the ninth edition where its revamped format has been launched by the Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Manohar Lal Khattar. The list has been made more inclusive with a fair and comprehensive evaluation, as the Ministry introduces the Super Swachh league that will highlight upon the cities that excel in cleanliness.
Under the Super Swachh league, the cities according to their population are divided into five categories. The ranking is based on the city’s –
Cleanliness,
Waste management practices of collection, segregation and disposal,
Sanitation practices and infrastructure that involves the availability of toilets, water supply and the drainage systems,
Along with citizen’s feedback that involves their participation as well as satisfaction,
On-site inspections (real time verification of cleanliness levels),
Certifications (the ratings given by the third-party agencies).
Indore has yet again distinguished itself as it wins the overall cleanest city award for the seventh time in a row, featuring in this edition too, along with Navi Mumbai and Surat, in the category of million plus population (10 lakh population). The city has witnessed remarkable improvement, transforming itself climbing the ladder up above from the 25th position to consistently making it at the top.
Indore has achieved this milestone consistently because of its 100% waste collection and segregation, the conversion of waste to organic waste at its Bio-CNG plant, the active participation of its citizens in maintaining the cleanliness, and being a part of awareness drives and cleanliness campaigns, along with switching to AI driven garbage monitoring and smart waste management through GPS enabled waste collection vehicles. Â
Several Indian cities are making waves, setting standards for hygiene, waste management and other eco-friendly practices. But the ones that have ranked in the top 3 in at least two of the three years from 2021-2023 are only qualified for the Super Swachh league having consistently excelled in cleanliness. There are 12 Indian cities that have been selected for this and are featuring in the list.
The 2024-25 cleanest cities of India on the basis of population are:
Category 1: Very small cities - <20,000
Category 2: Very small cities – 20,000 to 50,000
Category 3: Medium cities – 50,000 to 3,00,000
Category 4: Big cities – 3,00,000 to 10,00,000
Category 5: Million plus cities - >10,00,000
By adopting sustainable waste management practices, proper sanitation and an involvement of public, more cities can make it to the list.
