Swachh Survekshan 2025-26 results are out, naming India’s cleanest cities. Navi Mumbai secured the top position, while Surat and Vijayawada followed. President Droupadi Murmu presented these awards on Wednesday. Over 4,700 urban local bodies participated in the survey. Greater Visakhapatnam and Ujjain also led their respective population categories in this year’s rankings.
Swachh Survekshan 2025-26 results are out. Check India's cleanest cities, including Navi Mumbai, Surat, Visakhapatnam, Ujjain and other category-wise winners.
The rankings were announced on Wednesday at an award ceremony attended by President Droupadi Murmu, who presented the awards to the winners. More than 4,700 urban local bodies (ULBs) participated in this year's survey.
While Navi Mumbai secured the top position, Greater Visakhapatnam led the category of cities with a population of over 10 lakh, followed by Jabalpur and Lucknow. Among cities with populations between 3 lakh and 10 lakh, Ujjain ranked first, while Chandigarh and Guntur secured the second and third positions, respectively.
How did major cities perform in Swachh Survekshan 2025-26?
The survey results place cities in different categories based on population and other classifications. Navi Mumbai topped the overall cleanest city category, with Surat and Vijayawada taking the next two positions.
In the category of cities with more than 10 lakh residents, Greater Visakhapatnam emerged as the cleanest, followed by Jabalpur and Lucknow. Ujjain led the 3-10 lakh population category, with Chandigarh and Guntur finishing second and third.
However, the available survey results do not specify the individual rankings of Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) secured the second position in the category of cities with a population of 50,000 to 3 lakh. This ranking applies to NDMC and should not be confused with Delhi's overall city ranking.
The survey also introduced a separate Mentor City category under the 'Swachh Shehar Jodi' initiative. Indore, which had held the cleanest city title for eight consecutive years, was moved to this category along with its partner town, Depalpur. The city secured the second position, while Ahmedabad and its partner town Sanand topped the category. Tirupati and Kuppam finished third.
For smaller urban centres, Madhya Pradesh's Dewas emerged as the cleanest city in the 50,000-3 lakh population category. The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) ranked second, while Sagar secured the third position.
In the 20,000-50,000 population category, Maharashtra's Vita claimed the top position, followed by Aska in Odisha and Panaji in Goa.
Rewa, Varanasi among top riverfront cities; Puri leads coastal towns
Apart from the city rankings, the Swachh Survekshan 2025-26 also recognised urban centres across riverfront, coastal and Himalayan categories.
Madhya Pradesh's Rewa was declared the cleanest riverfront town in the country, followed by Bilaspur in second place and Varanasi in third.
In the Swachh Coastal Town category, Odisha's Puri secured the first position. Kerala's Alappuzha and Maharashtra's Ratnagiri finished second and third, respectively.
Uttarakhand's Rudrapur emerged as the cleanest Himalayan city, while Jammu secured the second position and Shopian ranked third.
The Centre's annual cleanliness survey was conducted under the theme, 'Swachhata Ki Nayi Pehel - Badhayein Haath, Karein Safai Saath'.
According to the Union Housing and Urban Affairs (HUA) Ministry, more than 3,000 trained assessors carried out on-ground evaluations across the country. The exercise was supported by real-time GPS-enabled monitoring, while the submission and verification of evidence were conducted digitally, with quality checks at different stages.
The ministry also highlighted improvements in the performance of cities participating in the 'Swachh Shehar Jodi' mentorship initiative between the 2024-25 and 2025-26 editions.
The proportion of mentee cities meeting the 'Visible Cleanliness' parameter increased from 48% in the previous survey to 70% this year.
"For 'Door-to-Door Collection', mentee cities were at 52 per cent in Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 and have now cumulatively reached 74 per cent. Mentee cities have also achieved notable improvements across key parameters such as: Source Segregation (from 16 to 30 per cent), Access to Sanitation (from 11 to 38 per cent), Used Water Management (from 32 to 53 per cent), and Advocacy for Swachhata (from 48 to 66 per cent), reflecting strengthened sanitation systems and improved service delivery outcomes through dedicated mentorship from high-performing cities," it stated.