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Swachh Survekshan rankings: Chandigarh 2nd cleanest among big cities, Mohali, Panchkula bite the dust
The Union ministry had placed the cities in five different categories, as per the population in the 2011 census. Under the new category -- Super Swachh League -- Noida emerged the cleanest city, followed by Chandigarh and Mysore in the three to 10 lakh population category. The ministry did not share total scores for the super league cities.
Chandigarh emerged the second cleanest city among ‘big cities’ with a population of 3-10 lakh in the 2024-25 Swachh Survekshan rankings while neighbours Mohali and Panchkula put up a dismal performance, seeing a decline from their previous years performance. For City Beautiful, however, it was a major boost as it had been ranked 11th in the ‘over one lakh population’ category.
The Union ministry had placed the cities in five different categories, as per the population in the 2011 census. Under the new category -- Super Swachh League -- Noida emerged the cleanest city, followed by Chandigarh and Mysore in the three to 10 lakh population category. The ministry did not share total scores for the super league cities.
The union ministry shared that Chandigarh had achieved 100% score in cleanliness of residential areas, markets, water bodies, and public toilets. It also scored a perfect 100 in waste processing and remediation of dumpsites. The city scored 93% in door-to-door garbage collection and 14% in segregation of waste at source (at homes).
President Droupadi Murmu presented the award to Punjab governor and UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria and Chandigarh mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla at a ceremony in the national capital after the Union housing and urban affairs ministry announced the rankings. Secretary local government Mandeep Singh Brar, and municipal commissioner Amit Kumar were also present during the event.
The administrator congratulated all stakeholders—officers, field staff, and citizens—for their contributions. “This national recognition reflects the collective spirit and resolve of Chandigarh towards Swachhata. Let us continue this journey with the same enthusiasm and strive to make Chandigarh the cleanest city in the nation.”
Mayor Babla thanked all councillors, former mayors, officers and officials of the MC, specifically sanitation workers and all citizens for their cooperation.
Municipal commissioner Amit Kumar said collective efforts, vision, and dedication of the past leadership laid a strong foundation for sustained cleanliness and innovation in urban sanitation.
Meanwhile Chandigarh Congress president HS Lucky said, “While I congratulate the mayor, councillors, officers, and staff of the MC, I must also highlight the ground reality — broken roads, the failure of the 24×7 water supply project, and a severe shortage of funds in the Municipal Corporation have brought the city’s development to a standstill. The heaps of garbage at the dumping ground reflect the true state of affairs.”
Vijaypal Singh, AAP president: “This recognition is a proud moment for Chandigarh and for AAP. Under former mayor Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor’s leadership, and with the support of our dedicated councillors and alliance partners, the city has delivered outstanding results in cleanliness rankings. The success reflects the teamwork and cooperation extended by AAP councillors along with alliance partners, including Congress MP Manish Tewari.”
Mohali plunges to 128th, worst ranking in 3 yrs
Mohali was placed in the 128th position among 903 cities with a population of 50,000- 3 lakh. This is a steep fall from its 82nd position last year and its worst performance in three years.
A major contributor to this decline is Mohali’s persistent failure to manage solid waste effectively — a problem that has remained unresolved for several years. Indiscriminate garbage dumping, poor source segregation of waste, and inefficiencies in door-to-door collection also spoilt it for the city.
Mohali also dropped to the 11th position among 35 cities in Punjab this year. In stark contrast, it was ranked the cleanest city in the state last year, securing the first spot among 16 cities with a population of over one lakh.
Meanwhile, a political blame game has erupted between city mayor Amarjit Singh Sidhu and local AAP MLA Kulwant Singh after the results were announced.
Blaming the state government, mayor Sidhu said, “The government is not releasing funds from Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) or clearing vital agendas on time. We’ve repeatedly asked GMADA for land to set up a proper dumping site, but there’s been no cooperation. Instead, the issue is being politicised, and residents are bearing the brunt.”
In response, MLA Kulwant Singh demanded Sidhu’s resignation for “completely failing to perform his duties.” He added, “It has been over a year since the MC elections, and the mayor has yet to resolve the garbage processing plant issue.”
Panchkula at 139th place to 219
Panchkula, too, fared poorly, slipping to the 219th position, from its previous rank of 139, in the 50,000 to 3 lakh population category. While in 2023, it had scored 99% in door-to-door collection of waste, this time, it scored 61%. Source segregation, a cornerstone of effective waste management, also saw a significant dip from 61% in 2023 to just 20% in 2024.
Waste generation versus processing plummeted to 51% from 98% in the previous year. Panchkula, however, showed remarkable progress in ‘remediation of dumpsites’ – going from 0% in 2023 to 99% in 2024.
These results were based on a combination of citizen feedback and field assessments.
Mayor Kulbhushan Goyal said that one of the major reasons why the city’s ranking slipped is that they do not have a solid waste management plant. He also said there should be better coordination among all civic bodies like Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP), municipal corporation (MC), Panchkula Metropolitan Development Authority (PMDA), and Haryana State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC).
He said that HSVP alone has 10 sectors in the city and carries a major responsibility. “Illegal shanties should be removed, as people residing there throw garbage on roads, making the city dirty,” he said while maintaining that the city’s ranking has technically not decreased as the number of cities in that particular category has increased this time.
Kalka climbs to 311th spot
Kalka has significantly improved its standing in the Swachh Survekshan 2024, jumping to 311th position in the small cities category (20,000 to 50,000 population) from a previous rank of 1,106 in 2023. It scored a perfect 100 in waste processing, a substantial improvement from last year’s 54%. The city also scored 100% in remediation of dumpsites, cleanliness of residential areas, market areas, and water bodies. On the other hand, it lagged in door-to-door waste collection, maintenance of public toilets and waste segregation at source.
