Indore cleanest city in India for 5th consecutive year, Chhattisgarh cleanest state

Indore was adjudged India's cleanest city for the fifth time in a row in the central government's annual cleanliness awards while Chhattisgarh retained the first position in the cleanest state category.

The second and third positions in the 'cleanest city' category of the 'Swachh Survekshan Awards, 2021' were secured by Surat and Vijayawada, respectively.

The 10 top-ranked cleanest cities, having a population of more than one lakh, are Indore, Surat, Vijaywada, Navi Mumbai, New Delhi, Ambikapur, Tirupati, Pune, Noida and Ujjain. Lucknow has been ranked the lowest among 25 cities in the same category.

Varanasi, represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha, has been adjudged the "cleanest Ganga town" while Bihar's Munger and Patna have been ranked second and third in the category. Varanasi had won the same award last year as well.

Although Indore and Surat retained their positions in the 'Swachh Survekshan Awards 2021', Navi Mumbai lost its third spot to Vijaywada and was in the fourth position in the latest survey results announced by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry on Saturday.

According to the ministry, Maharashtra has bagged a total of 92 awards, the highest by any state, followed by Chhattisgarh with 67 awards.

Under the survey, a total of nine cities: Indore, Surat, New Delhi Municipal Council, Navi Mumbai, Ambikapur, Mysuru, Noida, Vijayawada and Patna, have been certified with 5 star city ratings under the garbage-free city category while 143 cities have been rated as 3 star.

President Ram Nath Kovind gave away the awards in the presence of Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and others at an event here.

Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, having more than 100 urban local bodies, have been adjudged the second and third cleanest state in the country. In the category of states with less than 100 urban local bodies, Jharkhand has been ranked first, followed by Haryana and Goa.