Navi Mumbai has secured the top position in the Swachh Survekshan 2025-26 cleanliness rankings, followed by Surat and Vijayawada. The latest results, announced on November 11, also saw the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) secure second place among urban local bodies with populations between 50,000 and three lakh.

The annual cleanliness survey, conducted by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, evaluates cities on sanitation, waste management, public participation and the effectiveness of civic services. The latest edition covered more than 4,700 urban local bodies across the country.

The results were announced at an award ceremony held at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. President Droupadi Murmu presented the awards in the presence of Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal and Minister of State Tokhan Sahu.

NDMC’s performance placed it behind Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas, which secured the first position in the same population category. Sagar, also in Madhya Pradesh, finished third.

The rankings provide an overview of how cities across different population groups are performing in urban sanitation, solid waste management and cleanliness initiatives.

Navi Mumbai, Surat and Vijayawada lead rankings

Navi Mumbai emerged as the top-ranked city in the Super Swachh League category, followed by Surat and Vijayawada.

The Super Swachh League recognises cities that have demonstrated consistent performance in previous cleanliness surveys. The category is intended to encourage urban local bodies to maintain sanitation standards over several years rather than focus only on improving their position in a particular edition.

Navi Mumbai’s first-place finish also marks a change at the top of the national cleanliness rankings. Indore, which had dominated the Swachh Survekshan rankings for eight consecutive years, did not retain its leading position in the latest assessment.

The results reflect the competition among municipal corporations to improve door-to-door waste collection, garbage processing, sanitation infrastructure and public participation.

City rankings across population categories

The Swachh Survekshan assessment divides cities into different population groups to ensure that urban local bodies are evaluated against comparable civic administrations.

In the category for cities with populations exceeding 10 lakh, Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation secured the first position. Jabalpur ranked second, while Lucknow finished third.

Among cities with populations between three lakh and 10 lakh, Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh topped the list. Chandigarh secured second place, followed by Guntur in Andhra Pradesh.

In the category covering populations between 50,000 and three lakh, Dewas emerged as the winner, with NDMC in second place and Sagar in third.

For smaller urban centres with populations between 20,000 and 50,000, Vita in Maharashtra secured the first position. Aska in Odisha ranked second, while Panaji in Goa finished third.

The population-based classification allows smaller municipal bodies to compete with cities facing similar administrative and infrastructure challenges.

Riverfront, coastal and Himalayan cities recognised

The latest edition also included separate categories for riverfront towns, coastal cities and Himalayan settlements, recognising the different sanitation challenges faced by these locations.

Rewa in Madhya Pradesh secured the first position among riverfront towns. Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh ranked second, while Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh finished third.

In the coastal category, Puri in Odisha emerged as the top-ranked city. Alappuzha in Kerala secured second place, followed by Ratnagiri in Maharashtra.

The recognition for Alappuzha highlights the importance of waste management and sanitation in environmentally sensitive coastal and backwater regions. Such locations require careful management of solid waste and wastewater to protect water bodies and support tourism.

Among Himalayan cities, Rudrapur in Uttarakhand secured the first position. Jammu ranked second, while Shopian in Jammu and Kashmir finished third.

The special categories acknowledge that cities located along rivers, coastlines and mountainous regions face different environmental pressures. Their sanitation systems must account for local geography, tourism activity and ecological sensitivity.

More than 4,700 urban local bodies assessed

The 2025-26 Swachh Survekshan covered more than 4,700 urban local bodies and involved participation from over 2.7 crore citizens. The assessment was conducted using 43 indicators covering various aspects of urban cleanliness and municipal performance.

According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, more than 3,000 trained assessors carried out on-ground evaluations, supported by digital monitoring and GPS-enabled verification.

The assessment examined door-to-door garbage collection, segregation of waste at source, scientific processing and disposal, public sanitation facilities and citizen participation.

The survey also recorded improvements among smaller urban local bodies. More than 1,700 cities with populations below 50,000 improved their rankings compared with the previous assessment.

The government has also promoted the Swachh Shehar Jodi initiative, which connects better-performing cities with urban local bodies seeking to improve their sanitation systems. The programme encourages the sharing of practical knowledge and successful waste management practices.

Focus on sustained urban cleanliness

The annual cleanliness survey is part of the government’s broader Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban initiative, which focuses on improving sanitation, eliminating open defecation and strengthening solid waste management in cities.

The rankings provide municipal administrations with an opportunity to assess their performance and identify areas requiring improvement. They also highlight the role of residents in maintaining public spaces and ensuring proper waste segregation.

While the latest results recognise the performance of cities such as Navi Mumbai, Surat and Vijayawada, they also underline the importance of sustained investment in sanitation infrastructure and civic services.

For NDMC, the second-place ranking reflects its performance among urban local bodies of a comparable population size. The broader results offer an assessment of cleanliness efforts across India’s cities and towns, with continued improvements in waste management and public participation remaining important priorities.