Key Points

The city emerged at the top among urban centres with a population of over 10 lakh, followed by Bhopal and Lucknow.

The prestigious award was presented by President Droupadi Murmu at a ceremony held in Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.

Expressing her happiness, Ahmedabad Mayor Pratibha Jain told IANS, "I am truly delighted. Ahmedabad, being declared the cleanest big city, is a result of the relentless efforts of the entire administration and the active participation of our citizens. I wholeheartedly thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for their visionary leadership and constant encouragement."

She added, "We worked tirelessly using the principles of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle (3R). We also implemented a waste-to-energy plant, which played a major role in our success. I hope that every city in Gujarat rises to the top in the coming years."

This year's Swachh Survekshan introduced a new elite category - Super Swachh League Cities - recognising cities that consistently ranked in the top three over the last three years. Indore, Surat, and Navi Mumbai were included in this league. Last year, Indore and Surat were jointly declared the cleanest cities, with Indore maintaining its position for the seventh year in a row.

In the population category of 3 to 10 lakh, Mira Bhayandar secured the first position, followed by Bilaspur and Jamshedpur.

Launched in 2016 under the Swachh Bharat Mission by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the Swachh Survekshan has grown exponentially. From just 73 cities in its first edition, this year's survey covered 4,589 cities from April 2024 to March 2025.

According to an official release, the awards were presented in four key segments: Super Swachh League Cities, Top Three Clean Cities in Five Population Categories, Special Categories (such as Ganga Towns, Cantonment Boards, SafaiMitra Suraksha, Mahakumbh), and State-Level Awards recognising the most promising clean cities.

For the first time, cities were divided into five population-based categories, including a new segment for very small cities with populations under 10 lakh.

- IANS