The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has secured the 8th rank in the ‘Swachh Shahar’ category for cities with a population of more than 10 lakh for the 2024 edition of the Swachh Survekshan, improving its national standing by one position from last year.
In 2023-24, Pune was ranked 9th, competing alongside cities like Indore, Navi Mumbai, Surat, and Visakhapatnam, which have consistently topped the charts in the past nine years.
This year, however, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs placed the top four consistently performing cities into a separate “Super Swachh League” category, allowing other cities like Pune to move up in the rankings.
In this year’s assessment, Pune scored 11,653 points and came second in Maharashtra, behind Pimpri-Chinchwad, which led the state rankings.
Prithviraj BP, additional municipal commissioner, said that while the PMC was satisfied with the improved performance, the civic body is now setting its sights on reaching the top three nationally.
“We have strengthened door-to-door garbage collection and segregation, but the challenges remain—particularly in the merged villages where systems for collection, transport, and processing of waste are inadequate,” he said.
Highlighting efforts to improve sewage treatment, Prithviraj said, “With assistance from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), we are expanding our sewage treatment capabilities. This will help significantly in improving sanitation scores.”
{{/usCountry}}Highlighting efforts to improve sewage treatment, Prithviraj said, “With assistance from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), we are expanding our sewage treatment capabilities. This will help significantly in improving sanitation scores.”
{{/usCountry}}This year’s top national ranks went to Ahmedabad (1st), Bhopal (2nd), and Lucknow (3rd), while cities like Indore, Navi Mumbai, Surat, and Visakhapatnam were assessed under the newly created elite league category.