Mysuru Joins India’s Cleanest Cities League, Bengaluru Climbs to 36th

The Swachh Survekshan 2024–25 rankings brought mixed outcomes for Karnataka. While Bengaluru improved significantly by rising to 36th place among 40 million-plus cities, Mysuru re-emerged as a cleanliness champion, becoming the only city from Karnataka to enter the prestigious Super Swachh League (SSL) — a recognition reserved for urban centres achieving sustained sanitation excellence under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U).

Background

Swachh Survekshan, conducted annually by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), is the world’s largest urban cleanliness survey. Introduced in 2016, it evaluates cities based on parameters like waste collection, segregation, sanitation, public engagement, and innovative practices. The latest edition ranked cities under population-based categories, including Million-Plus Cities and 3 to 10 Lakh population cities.

Bengaluru’s Climb: From 125 to 36

• Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) made a substantial improvement from 125th position (in 2023–24) to 36th out of 40 in the Million-Plus Cities category.
• BBMP scored 5,642 out of 10,000, showing improvement in residential (100%) and market area (97%) cleanliness.
• However, performance declined in public toilet cleanliness (27% vs 87% last year) and source segregation (82% vs 99% earlier).
• Landfill remediation scored zero points again, indicating a persistent challenge in managing legacy waste.
• At the Karnataka state level, Bengaluru slid from 3rd to 15th place, with Davanagere and Hubballi-Dharwad leading.

Mysuru’s Comeback: Joins Super Swachh League

Mysuru, once crowned India’s cleanest city in 2016, made a powerful return by entering the Super Swachh League, designed to recognize consistently excellent cities. The city, under the 3–10 lakh population category, demonstrated superior sanitation systems, civic participation, and community-led cleanliness drives. Pourakarmikas, the frontline sanitation workers, celebrated this achievement, recognizing it as a victory for collective civic engagement. This achievement affirms Mysuru’s long-standing commitment to sustainable cleanliness despite previous setbacks.

Key Takeaways and Impact

1. The rankings reflect strong inter-city competition, public participation, and evolving sanitation challenges in large urban areas.
2. Bengaluru’s improvement, though commendable, signals the need for enhanced infrastructure, particularly in waste processing, toilet upkeep, and landfill cleanup.
3. Mysuru’s success offers a replicable model for cities aiming to combine policy, people, and planning for creating cleaner urban environments.
4. The Super Swachh League marks a shift from one-time rankings to recognitions based on sustained, long-term excellence.