The results of the Swachh Survekshan 2024–25 have brought pride to Gujarat, with Ahmedabad being declared the Cleanest Big City in India among cities with a population of over 10 lakh. Surat, too, earned national recognition for its excellence in Solid Waste Management, highlighting Gujarat’s strong commitment to urban cleanliness and sustainable waste practices.
The awards were presented by President Droupadi Murmu at a national ceremony held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, on Thursday. Receiving the honours were Gujarat Health Minister Rushikesh Patel, Ahmedabad Mayor Pratibha Jain, and Amdavad Municipal Commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani.
Top Cleanest Cities in India
- Indore (Madhya Pradesh) retained its title as the cleanest city in India.
- Ambikapur (Chhattisgarh) secured second place.
- Mysuru (Karnataka) came third.
Ahmedabad’s rise is particularly remarkable — from ranking 15th in 2015 to now leading in the million-plus category. In 2023, Indore and Surat were jointly awarded the title of Cleanest Cities.
About Swachh Survekshan 2024–25
Now in its ninth edition, Swachh Survekshan is the world’s largest urban cleanliness survey and a flagship initiative under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U). Organised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), the 2024–25 survey focused on the theme ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’, aiming to evaluate and promote cleaner cities across India.
This year, awards were given across four major categories:
- Super Swachh League (SSL) Cities
- Top 3 clean cities across 5 population categories
- Special Categories (including Ganga towns, cantonment boards, SafaiMitra Suraksha, and Mahakumbh towns)
- State-Level Awards for promising clean cities
A total of 78 awards were distributed.
More than 3,000 trained assessors conducted extensive evaluations in over 4,500 cities, covering every ward in just 45 days. Over 11 lakh households were surveyed, and public participation reached a new high with 14 crore citizens engaging through platforms like the Swachhata App, MyGov, and social media.
For fairer assessments, cities were classified into five population-based categories for the first time:
- Very Small Cities (under 20,000)
- Small Cities (20,000–50,000)
- Medium Cities (50,000–3 lakh)
- Big Cities (3–10 lakh)
- Million-Plus Cities (over 10 lakh)
The newly introduced Super Swachh League (SSL) recognises cities that have consistently performed well over the past three years and remained in the top 20% of their category in the current year — rewarding not just excellence, but sustained commitment.