Navi Mumbai: Navi Mumbai has won the cleanest city award in the Super Swachh League category of Swachh Survekshan 2025-26. Surat finished second and Vijayawada third.Last year, Navi Mumbai had ranked third, after Indore and Surat, in this elite club of cities with 1 million-plus population that have been in the country’s top tier over several consecutive years.President Droupadi Murmu presented the award to Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation commissioner (NMMC) Kailas Shinde, Navi Mumbai mayor Sujata Patil and deputy mayor Dashrath Bhagat in Delhi on Wednesday. Shinde credited citizens, civic employees, sanitation workers and people’s representatives for the achievement. “Our slogan of finishing top podium in the nationwide competition turned true after years of hard work,” he said.The ranking for Mumbai city was not made public. Last year, it was in the 33rd spot. A BMC official said, “The award ceremony was held with only the awardees in attendance. The detailed ranking list of all urban local bodies is still awaited.”Among coastal towns, Ratnagiri is the third cleanest after Puri (Odisha) and Alappuzha (Kerala).NMMC maintains cleanliness through strict enforcement of solid waste management rules, continuous cleaning of roadsides and skywalks, citizen feedback through the Swachhata app, and targeted sanitation in high-footfall public areas, said Shinde. According to Vashi resident Charanjit Singh, Navi Mumbai can’t be compared with any other city as far as greenery is concerned.Activist Sudhir Dani, however, disputed the award, alleging that the city is not as clean as projected by the civic administration. Vashi resident Bhavna Bhatia said footpaths have been encroached upon in residential and commercial areas and repeated complaints to officials have received no encouraging response. She said the city is well planned but civic administration is inefficient.The civic body had taken planned steps over the past three to four years, guided by its motto, ‘Resolved, Number One’, while steadily improving its cleanliness ranking, said Shinde, adding that the award recognises Navi Mumbai’s performance under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban. The city has consistently ranked among India’s cleanest cities and retained its place in the Super Swachh League yet again, said Patil.It has also been recognised as a seven-star ‘garbage free city’ and received ‘water plus’ certification (urban sanitation standard). Measures contributing to the achievement included maintaining daily cleanliness standards and using technology such as the integrated command control centre for waste collection and transportation. Segregated waste was processed as per the category, while the country’s first textile waste recycling centre was successfully operated.Other priorities included water reuse and digital platforms such as MyNMMC App and Citizen Grievance Portal for lodging and resolving complaints and providing information. Plastic prevention measures, large-scale cleanliness campaigns involving citizens, and participation by students and young people were also emphasised.
Discover more from updatview
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
