Nagpur misses Swachh Survekshan 2025 top three again; Navi Mumbai ranks first

The results of the Centre's Swachh Survekshan 2025 have been announced. Nagpur again failed to figure among the country's three cleanest cities. The city's final rank has not yet been made clear.

Nagpur was ranked 22nd in the country last year. Residents are curious whether the city has improved or slipped this time. With Maharashtra's Navi Mumbai taking the top spot in the country, questions are again being raised over the Nagpur Municipal Corporation's sanitation arrangements.

Navi Mumbai secured first place in the "Super Swachh League" category. Gujarat's Surat is second and Andhra Pradesh's Vijayawada third. Nagpur's name is not on the list of these top performers. As its exact rank has not emerged, the picture of the city's performance remains unclear.

Marks in the Swachh Survekshan are awarded on several parameters. These include garbage collection, segregation, processing, cleanliness of public places, road cleaning, drain cleaning and citizen participation. The Nagpur Municipal Corporation has taken several steps for cleanliness, but how effective their implementation has actually been is the key question.

In many parts of the city, more effort is said to be needed on waste management, cleanliness and coordination between departments. This year's result will therefore show the real state of the corporation's cleanliness drive.

Meanwhile, the process for the 2026 Swachh Survekshan has begun. The Nagpur Municipal Corporation has started preparing according to the required parameters, coordinating among its departments. A solid waste management processing project has also become operational at Bhandewadi this year. With the capacity to process waste scientifically increasing, improvement in Nagpur's performance in the next survey is expected.

According to Dr Gajendra Mahalle, the corporation's solid waste management officer, waste processing was a major reason Nagpur lagged behind. The new project has brought a big improvement in this area. He expressed confidence that Nagpur will find a place in the top list in the next survey. It remains to be seen how far these efforts of the corporation show in the actual result.