Chandigarh: The Union Territory of Chandigarh was adjudged the second cleanest city in the category of cities with a population between 3 and 10 lakh at the ninth Swachh Survekshan 2024 annual awards in New Delhi on Thursday.
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.
Crediting the people of Chandigarh, mayor Babla said: “Chandigarh continues to set the benchmark in urban sanitation, reaffirming its status as one of India’s cleanest and most sustainable cities.”
Indore retained the top position among the cleanest cities for the eighth time in a row, followed by Surat and Navi Mumbai under the Super Swachh League award category in the government’s annual cleanliness survey.
In the ‘Swachh Shahar’ category for cities with more than 10 lakh population, Ahmedabad secured the first position, while Bhopal and Lucknow followed it on the next two spots.
According to the ministry, 14 crore people participated in the survey through face-to-face interactions, the Swachhata App, MyGov, and social media platforms in over 4,500 cities.
A total of 78 awards were presented this year across four categories — Super Swachh League Cities; Top three clean cities in five population categories; Special Category: Ganga Towns, Cantonment Boards, SafaiMitra Suraksha, Mahakumbh; and State Level Awards — Promising clean city of a state or UT.
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 event was attended by Union housing and urban affairs minister Manohar Lal Khattar among others.
This year, the theme was: Reduce, reuse, recycle. Over 3,000 assessors conducted thorough inspections in every ward across the country over 45 days, the ministry said.