Swachh Survekshan Awards 2025-26: Check India’s Cleanest Cities and Winners

President Droupadi Murmu conferred the Swachh Survekshan Awards 2025-26 to acknowledge the best cities/towns to work towards urban cleanliness. The 10th edition of the awards were organised by Department of Urban Development under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). It helped evaluate the performance of urban local bodies (ULBs) across the country. The awards were presented to the top performing cities, city pairs and special regions. They helped encourage citizen participation, effective waste management and overall improvement in sanitation.

Swachh Survekshan Awards 2025-26

Honorable Union Minister Manohar Lal (Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Power) and Tokhan Sahu (Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs) were present at the awards.

• Awards:Swachh Survekshan Awards 2025-26
• Edition: 10th
• Awards Given By: President Droupadi Murmu
• Location: Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi
• Ministry: Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
• Organized By: Department of Urban Development
• Total Awards Announced Nationally: 60
• Total Cities Evaluated: 4751
• Total Citizens Surveyed: 2.70 crore
• Parameters Evaluated: 43
• Professional Assessors: Over 3000+

Types of Awards: Swachh Shehar Jodi, Super Swachh League, Swachh Shehar (5 categories), Swachh River Front Town, Swachh Coastal Town, Clean Himalayan City, State First Swachh City. There are 5 categories of awards

Top Winners of Swachh Survekshan 2025-26

1. Top Swachh Shehar Jodis

The Swachh Shehar Jodi (SSJ) initiative encourages cities to share knowledge with those who perform better in sanitation. This follows the ‘Each One – Teach One’ principle and is based on the Guru-Shishya model.

The top 3 city pairs were,

The ranking was based on the combined score from the mentor cities (cities acknowledged in the 2024-25 survey) and mentee cities. It helps cities with experience to help other ULBs improve sanitation practices.

2. Cleanest Cities in Super Swachh League

The top 3 cities were,

3. Top Swachh Shehar (Million Plus Population)

The best cities in the Million Plus population category were,

4. Cleanest Himalayan Cities

This category was an honourable mention. It focused on celebrating the cities that strive to keep the Himalayan and Hill cities clean.

5. Swachh River Front Towns

The category celebrates towns that have strived to keep their rivers/water sources clean.

6. Swachh Coastal Towns

This category focuses on keeping the coastal areas clean. Waste management plays an important role in keeping the marine environments, tourist industries and local communities healthy.

7. State First Swachh City Award

The State First Swachh City Award celebrated the top 30 performing cities in each state and UT. It aims to encourage cities to improve cleanliness within their state.

Union Territories were split into two groups,

• UTs with 5 or fewer ULBs
• UTs with more than 5 ULBs

Assessment Criteria of Swachh Survekshan 2025-26

The 10th edition of the survey evaluated the urban local bodies using 43 criteria across 10 key areas. Over 3000 professional assessors carried out field visits across the country. These visits were monitored using GPS technology.

A digital and transparent approach was used throughout the process.

Key Highlights and Improvements in 2025-26

A large number of urban local bodies improved their standings in the cleanliness rankings.

• Over 350+ ULBs improved their ranking by over 500 places.
• Over 1700+ small cities (under 50,000 population) improved their ranking from 2024-25.
• 4751 cities were surveyed in comparison to only 73 cities in the first edition in 2016.
• Around 2.70 crore citizens gave their feedback.
• Overall this shows increased involvement from smaller urban areas.

Key Initiatives and Highlights

1. Swachh Shehar Jodi

• 70 cities were partnered with 191 cities under the Swachh Shehar Jodi initiative.
• This helps cities that perform well to pass on their experiences and best practices. The initiative focuses on encouraging collaborative learning between cities.

2. PRAGATI-50

• The PRAGATI-50 initiative aims to create 50 Model Clean Cities using technology and monitoring.

3. Swachhata Hi Seva 2026

• Almost 2.10 crore citizens took part in the Swachhata Hi Seva 2026 cleanliness campaign.

4. Supporting SafaiMitras

• Almost 17 lakh SafaiMitras benefitted from over 33,000 special camps. This initiative helped highlight the importance of supporting sanitation workers.

5. Gyan Yatras

• Almost 4 lakh children benefitted from Gyan Yatras. This aims to encourage awareness and responsible cleanliness habits.

Improvements since 2014 in Swachh Bharat Mission

Union Minister Manohar Lal highlighted the improvements seen in urban sanitation since the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission.

He explained that the Swachh Bharat Mission is a national movement. It needs to become a habit for people to keep things clean.