NEWS

• Indore, India’s cleanest city, secured the 1st position among million-plus population cities in the Swachh Vayu Survekshan (SVS) 2025, conducted under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).
• However, its PM10 concentration increased slightly from 82 μg/m³ (2017-18) to 83 μg/m³ (2024-25).

HIGHLIGHTS

Other Top Performers

• Jabalpur ranked 2nd; Agra (UP) and Surat (Gujarat) shared 3rd place.
• Navi Mumbai (4th), Kanpur (5th), Bhopal (6th), Allahabad (7th), Chandigarh (8th), Ahmedabad–Pune–Nagpur (10th) followed.
• Delhi ranked 32nd, while metros like Mumbai (25th), Bengaluru (36th), Kolkata (38th), and Chennai (41st) performed poorly.

Small-City Categories

• Amravati topped in the 3–10 lakh category, with Jhansi and Moradabad joint second.
• Dewas (MP) led in the under-3 lakh category, followed by Parwanoo (HP) and Angul (Odisha).

Progress Under NCAP

• Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav noted PM10 reduction in 103 out of 130 NCAP cities.
• 64 cities cut levels by 20%, while 25 cities achieved over 40% decline.
• Mumbai showed the steepest fall (44%), followed by Kolkata (37%), Hyderabad & Bengaluru (26%), Delhi (15%), and Chennai (12%).

Metros and Standards

• Only Chennai meets NAAQS norms with 58 μg/m³ PM10.
• Delhi (203), Kolkata (92), Mumbai (90), Hyderabad (81), Bengaluru (68) exceed the limit.

About Swachh Vayu Survekshan (SVS)

• Annual survey by MoEFCC under NCAP, covering 130 cities.
• Aims to promote competition and accelerate clean air actions.
• Cities are assessed on 8 parameters: road dust control, solid waste management, vehicular & industrial emission checks, C&D waste handling, public awareness, and PM10/PM2.5 reduction.
• Introduced in 2022, Indore first topped in 2023, Lucknow in the inaugural edition.

Additional Announcements

• Indore and Udaipur recognized as ‘Wetland Cities’ under Ramsar Convention.
• Govt launched “Ek Ped Maa ke Naam” campaign, aiming for 75 crore plantations (Sept 17–Oct 2).