Navi Mumbai named India's cleanest city; Indore slips out of top three, Nagpur rank awaited

Navi Mumbai has been declared the cleanest city in the country in the Swachh Survekshan 2025-26, the tenth edition of the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry's annual cleanliness survey. The results were announced on Wednesday, November 11, at an awards ceremony at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. More than 4,751 cities took part.

President Droupadi Murmu was the chief guest and handed the national award to Navi Mumbai's mayor, Sujata Patil. Deputy Mayor Dasharath Bhagat and Municipal Commissioner Dr Kailas Shinde were among the officials present. Union Minister Manohar Lal, Minister of State Tokhan Sahu and Secretary Satyendra Singh also attended, along with mayors and commissioners from across the country. Navi Mumbai won in the Super Swachh League, praised for waste management, wet and dry segregation, scientific processing, clean public spaces and citizen participation. Surat in Gujarat came second and Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh third. The Navi Mumbai civic body dedicated the honour to its sanitation workers, Swachhata Sakhis and citizens. It has won awards in various categories for 10 years running, and this is its first win of the top title.

The biggest surprise was Indore. The Madhya Pradesh city had been named the country's cleanest for eight years in a row, but this time it did not make the top three of the Swachh Shehar league. Indore and Depalpur did take second prize in the Swachh Shehar Jodi category, where Sanand, partner city of Ahmedabad, was first. Ahmedabad had pushed Indore hard for three years. The two shared first prize two years ago, and both were in the Premier League last year. Ahmedabad's officials had studied Indore's sanitation system when they finished second three years ago, and adopted its methods.

Other Madhya Pradesh cities did well. Dewas and Ujjain took first place in population-based groups, and both had copied Indore's methods and drawn on officials who had served in its civic body. Ujjain was first among cities of 3 to 10 lakh people, ahead of Chandigarh and Guntur. It set up separate projects for waste management and for wet waste disposal, and paid special attention to the Mahakal temple complex so that visiting devotees would see no dirt. Dewas, first among smaller cities, collects garbage door to door from every household, has removed dustbins from neighbourhoods and sends waste to a collection centre. Among cities with over 10 lakh people, Greater Visakhapatnam was first, with Jabalpur second and Lucknow third. Among riverside cities, Rewa was first, Bilaspur second and Varanasi third.

Maharashtra won elsewhere too. Vita Municipal Council in Sangli district was first in the country among towns of 20,000 to 50,000 people, for sanitation management, regular collection, segregation and public participation. The tourist town of Panchgani was second among towns below 20,000. Ratnagiri Municipal Council was third in the Clean Coastal Cities category, for work on beach cleanliness, marine pollution and environmental protection. Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation received the State First Swachh City award.

In her address, President Murmu said cleanliness is not just about how public spaces look. She linked it to citizens' health, social sensitivity and the responsibility of the administration. Invoking "Badhayen Haath, Karein Safai Saath", she asked citizens to take an active part. Manohar Lal said only 16 per cent of urban waste was processed in 2014, against 80 per cent now. He added that door-to-door collection covers more than 96 per cent of households and that the survey now reaches 4,751 cities.

Nagpur was not among the top three cleanest cities again, and its final rank has not yet been made clear. It stood 22nd last year, and residents want to know whether it has improved or slipped. The result has revived questions about the Nagpur Municipal Corporation's sanitation arrangements. Marks are given for collection, segregation, processing, cleanliness of public places, road and drain cleaning and citizen participation. Many parts of the city are said to need more work on waste management and coordination between departments.

The corporation has already begun preparing for the 2026 survey. A solid waste processing project has started operating at Bhandewadi this year. Dr Gajendra Mahalle, the corporation's solid waste management officer, said weak processing was a major reason Nagpur lagged behind, and the new project has improved this greatly. He said he is confident Nagpur will find a place in the top list next time.