Swachh Survekshan 2024–25: Ahmedabad awarded ‘Cleanest Big City’ of India

The Swachh Survekshan 2024–25 results are out, marking a proud moment for Gujarat as two of its major cities — Ahmedabad and Surat — have earned national recognition for their cleanliness efforts. Ahmedabad has clinched the top spot among cities with a population of over 10 lakh, while Surat has been recognised for its excellence in Solid Waste Management. These achievements reflect the state’s ongoing commitment to urban sanitation and sustainable waste practices.

Gujarat Health Minister Rushikesh Patel,  Ahmedabad Mayor Pratibha Jain, and Amdavad Municipal Commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani received the award from President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday.

Top cleanest cities

Indore in Madhya Pradesh has been chosen as the cleanest city in the country. Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh secured the second position, while Mysuru in Karnataka came third.

The central government announced the Swachh Survekshan 2024 Awards on July 17. Among cities with a population of over 10 lakh, Ahmedabad in Gujarat has topped the list. Back in 2015, Ahmedabad was ranked 15th, and now it has risen to the number one spot.

Notably, Indore and Surat were honoured with the title of ‘Cleanest Cities’ in 2023. 

President Murmu conferred Swachh Survekshan awards for urban cleanliness 

President Droupadi Murmu conferred the Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 Awards for urban cleanliness at a national ceremony organised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, on Thursday. 

Marking its ninth edition, Swachh Survekshan (SS) 2024-25 is the world’s largest urban cleanliness survey and a key pillar of the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U). 

This year’s awards were presented across four major categories: Super Swachh League (SSL) Cities, the top three clean cities in five different population categories, Special Categories including Ganga Towns, Cantonment Boards, SafaiMitra Suraksha, and Mahakumbh, and the State Level Awards for Promising Clean Cities of States/UTs. A total of 78 awards will be conferred during the ceremony.

The Swachh Survekshan, launched in 2016 with just 73 urban local bodies, has since expanded exponentially to cover over 4,500 cities. The 2024-25 edition continues to build on this legacy, spotlighting the theme of ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’, according to the MoHUA. 

More than 3,000 trained assessors conducted detailed inspections in every ward across the country over 45 days.

A hallmark of this year’s assessment was its inclusivity and scale, according to the ministry, which added that over 11 lakh households were surveyed. At the same time, public engagement soared to a record high with 14 crore citizens participating through face-to-face interactions, the Swachhata App, MyGov, and various social media platforms.

Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 adopted a structured, technology-driven methodology based on 10 parameters and 54 indicators, offering a comprehensive insight into sanitation and waste management in urban India.

The ministry also mentioned that the unique feature of this year’s edition is the introduction of the Super Swachh League (SSL) – a special league recognising cities that have consistently demonstrated excellence in cleanliness. 

The SSL includes cities that ranked in the top three at least once in the last three years and remain in the top 20 per cent of their population category this year. The league aimed to both reward consistency and inspire others to strive for better performance.

For the first time, cities have been classified into five population-based categories for a more equitable evaluation – Very Small Cities (population under 20,000), Small Cities (20,000-50,000), Medium Cities (50,000-3 lakh), Big Cities (310 lakh) and Million-Plus Cities (over 10 lakh).

(With inputs from syndicated feed)