Indore holds on to top spot as India’s cleanest city

For the second year in a row, Indore has been declared India’s cleanest city, followed by Bhopal and Chandigarh, according to the Swachh Sarvekshan 2018 rankings announced on Saturday. Jharkhand was ranked the best performing state, followed by Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.

At the bottom of the pile, the dirtiest city with a population over one lakh, was Bhadreswar in West Bengal. In fact, 19 of the country’s 25 dirtiest cities lie in West Bengal, according to the Survey.

The nationwide urban cleanliness survey, conducted by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, covered 4,203 cities in its third iteration. The first version of the survey, released in 2016, ranked only 73 cities, while last year’s rankings covered 434 cities.

Cities’ cleanliness scores take into account data provided by urban local bodies, independent observation by Central assessors, as well as citizen feedback. “The objective of the survey is to encourage large-scale citizen participation and create awareness amongst all sections of society about the importance of working together towards making towns and cities a better place to live in,” said a Ministry statement. Overall, 38 lakh citizens provided feedback this year.

This year, while national rankings were issued for the 485 cities with a population of over one lakh, zonal rankings were determined for smaller cities. Bundu in Jharkhand (East), Kakching in Manipur (North East), Panchgani in Maharashtra (West), Siddipet in Telengana (South) and Bhadson in Punjab (North) were declared winners among these smaller cities. Delhi Cantonment was awarded as the cleanest Cantonment Board in the country.