Which Is the Cleanest City in India? Latest Rankings and Insights

Ten years ago, the idea of India's cities competing fiercely over cleanliness rankings would have seemed optimistic at best. Today, it is a reality. Thousands of urban local bodies across the country are investing in waste management systems, sanitation infrastructure, and citizen engagement programmes, not just because it is the right thing to do, but because there is a formal ranking system that holds them publicly accountable every single year.

That system is the Swachh Survekshan, and if you have ever wondered which is the cleanest city in India, or how that determination is actually made, this article breaks it all down clearly.

Which Is the Cleanest City in India in 2025-26?

The answer, for the eighth consecutive year, is Indore.

Madhya Pradesh's largest city retained the top position in Swachh Survekshan 2024-25, continuing a streak that has made it the benchmark for urban cleanliness in India. What Indore has built is not just good infrastructure. It is a civic culture around waste management that has become self-sustaining.

The city achieves 100 per cent source segregation, meaning residents separate wet and dry waste at home before it is collected. Mechanised door-to-door collection covers the entire city. Advanced waste-to-energy plants process a significant portion of the waste generated daily. And critically, citizen participation is not passive. Indore's residents are active participants in the cleanliness system, which is why the results have been consistent across eight years and multiple administrations.

Top 10 Cleanest Cities in India: Latest Rankings

If we talk about the cleanest cities in India, there are many cities apart from Indore that have significantly improved themselves to be in the top 10. Here's the list of the top 10 cleanest cities in India based on the 2025-2026 report:

What Is Swachh Survekshan?

Swachh Survekshan is an annual urban cleanliness survey conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs under the Swachh Bharat Mission. It was introduced in 2016 with a modest starting point of 73 cities. In the 2024-25 edition, that number had grown to over 4,589 urban local bodies nationwide, making it one of the largest urban cleanliness assessments in the world.

The survey typically launches in late November each year, with results announced around mid-year. The underlying idea when it was introduced was straightforward: create healthy competition among cities, give local governments a measurable goal to work toward, and use public rankings as an incentive for sustained improvement. It has largely worked. Cities that once had little motivation to invest in sanitation infrastructure now track their Swachh Survekshan scores the way a business tracks quarterly results.

How Is the Swachh Survekshan Cleanliness Report Calculated?

This is the section most people never read about, and it is also the most important one for understanding why certain cities consistently top the list. The scoring is not based on a single factor. It uses a composite framework comprising 10 parameters and 54 indicators, totalling around 14,000 marks. The assessment combines data submitted by cities, third-party audits, on-ground observation, and direct citizen feedback.

Waste Management and Segregation

A significant portion of the score is tied to how well a city manages its waste at every stage. Door-to-door waste collection accounts for up to 13 per cent of the total weightage. Cities are assessed on whether they have achieved 100 per cent coverage, whether waste is being segregated at the source into wet and dry streams, and whether bulk waste generators like residential complexes and markets have on-site processing capacity. Plastic waste management and landfill remediation also contribute to the score. Cities that have built composting plants, refuse-derived fuel facilities, or biomethanation units tend to score significantly higher in this category.

Sanitation Infrastructure

The survey evaluates cities on their ODF status, which stands for Open Defecation Free. But the framework goes beyond the basic ODF certification. ODF Plus means the city has sustained open defecation freedom and has functional community toilets with faecal sludge management in place. ODF Double Plus adds safe sewage treatment and greywater management to that. Water Plus represents the highest level, covering the entire sanitation chain from collection to treatment to disposal. Each of these certifications is verified by third parties, not self-reported, and they contribute directly to a city's composite score.

Citizen Participation and Feedback

One of the more distinctive aspects of Swachh Survekshan is how much weight it gives to public voice. Citizen feedback is collected through the MyGov platform, the Swachhata app, QR codes placed at public facilities, and the Vote For Your City portal. This is not a one-time exercise during the survey window. Year-round feedback and grievance redressal metrics are tracked, and citizen engagement can account for up to 25 to 30 per cent of the total score. A city with excellent infrastructure but low citizen participation will still be penalised in the rankings.

Direct Observation

Beyond self-reported data and citizen feedback, trained third-party inspectors visit cities and conduct on-ground assessments. They evaluate visual cleanliness in public areas, check waste bins and collection points, assess the condition of water bodies and dumpsites, and document findings with photographic evidence. This independent layer of verification ensures that the scores reflect ground reality rather than administrative reporting alone.

Garbage Free City Star Rating

The GFC Star Rating is a separate but related certification system that runs from one to seven stars, based on how well a city manages waste collection, processing, disposal, and citizen involvement. A seven-star rating, the highest possible, contributes 1,250 marks to the Swachh Survekshan composite score. Lower star ratings are verified through self-declaration, while three, five, and seven-star certifications require independent third-party audits. Cities that invest in achieving higher GFC star ratings see a direct improvement in their overall ranking.

What These Cities Are Doing Differently

Every city in the top ten has achieved 100 per cent door-to-door waste collection. That sounds basic, but execution at scale across dense urban populations is genuinely difficult. These cities have also moved beyond collection to decentralised processing, using biomethanation plants, composting facilities, and construction and demolition waste processing units to handle waste closer to the source rather than routing everything to a central landfill.

Technology plays a role, too. GPS-tracked collection vehicles, citizen-facing apps for complaint registration, and data dashboards that municipal commissioners review daily are standard in top-ranked cities. It brings accountability into the system in a way that manual tracking never could.

Perhaps most notably, these cities treat sanitation workers differently. Top-ranked cities invest in personal protective equipment, health insurance, and formal recognition for the workers who make the system function. That investment in human dignity translates into better service delivery and lower attrition, both of which matter for sustained performance.

Cleanliness, Health, and Why It Matters

The connection between urban cleanliness and public health is direct and well-documented. Cities with poor waste management and open defecation see significantly higher rates of vector-borne diseases like dengue and malaria, waterborne illnesses like typhoid, and respiratory problems linked to open burning of waste. Clean cities reduce these risks at a population level, which means lower hospitalisation rates and a reduced burden on healthcare systems.

Better air quality in well-managed cities also contributes to lower rates of chronic respiratory conditions, which are among the more common reasons for hospitalisation claims in urban India. This is why cleanliness is not just a civic issue. It is a health issue, and the two are far more connected than most people realise. Having a robust health insurance plan that covers these conditions, whether you live in a clean city or not, remains an important part of financial planning for any urban household.

Planning to Visit These Cities? What You Should Know

Travelling is more comfortable when the streets are well-maintained, the public spaces are useful, and the disease burden is lower. For example, Indore is known for its food culture, while Surat is known for its textile markets and diamond industry.

However, cleanliness rankings don't eliminate travel risk. For example, during monsoon season in cities like Indore, even well-managed environments can pose a risk of waterborne illness. Foodborne problems can happen no matter what a city's Swachh Survekshan score is. If you are an international guest and want to ensure you are covered for medical emergencies, trip disruptions, or unexpected hospitalisation, an insurance plan is a practical safeguard. At Niva Bupa, we offer international travel insurance plans that cover you for the worst, so your journey stays as smooth as you planned it.

Also Read : Which is the Cleanest Country in the World? Latest Rankings

Final Thought

India's urban cleanliness story over the past decade is genuinely one of the more encouraging shifts in public administration. Cities that ranked poorly a few years ago are now investing seriously in systems and accountability. The Swachh Survekshan has created a competitive dynamic that has translated into real, measurable improvement on the ground.

Indore's eight-year reign at the top of the cleanest city in India rankings is not accidental. It is the result of sustained civic commitment, administrative consistency, and a population that has made cleanliness a shared value. For the rest of India's cities, it remains the clearest example of what is possible. Just make sure your trip is as well-prepared as the city itself. A travel insurance plan takes only minutes to arrange and ensures that an unexpected medical issue or travel disruption does not come in the way of experiencing India's best. 

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is Indore a great place for living?

Many people think that Indore, India, is a great place to live. The city is known for being one of the cleanest in India and offers residents a great quality of life with lots of shopping, affordable housing, tasty food, job opportunities, and very safe neighbourhoods. 

2. Between Delhi and Indore, which is a better city to live in?

Indore is typically regarded as having a lower cost of living, much higher levels of safety and cleanliness than Delhi (eight-time winner). On the other hand, Delhi has the most job opportunities, the highest quality education and the largest access to a diverse culture of any city in the world. However, Indore provides a quieter and more organised approach to life, while Delhi offers fast-paced, high-rent cosmopolitan style living, with significantly higher pollution and traffic problems.

3. Which city is considered the dirtiest city in India?

As of early 2026, Madurai is the dirtiest city in India (population > 1 million) due to its significant waste management and sanitation issues. Other cities that are noted for their poor levels of sanitation include Ludhiana, Chennai, Ranchi and Bengaluru (the next four most dirty cities).

4. Is Indore safe at night time? 

Indore is mostly viewed as a safe city after hours since it has a good food scene based along the streets that live on into the night. As an urban area, there are enough police on the job and patrols (PCR) to keep places safe, but you should always follow common sense when going out at night including staying away from abandoned or isolated areas and using safe modes of transport such as Ola or Uber.