Swachh Survekshan 2025-26: Patna Wins Bihar State-First Award, Navi Mumbai Tops National Rankings

The news

Patna has been declared the cleanest city in Bihar in the 10th edition of the Swachh Survekshan, receiving the State First Swachh City award for 2025-26. President Droupadi Murmu presented the award at a ceremony held at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi on Wednesday, 11 November 2026. The award was received by state urban development and housing minister Nitish Mishra, mayor Sita Sahu, deputy mayor Reshmi Kumari, urban development department secretary Sandeep Pudkalakatti and municipal commissioner Yashpal Meena. Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary described the recognition as a matter of pride for Bihar and said it would inspire other cities.

Navi Mumbai was ranked the cleanest city in the country, followed by Surat and Vijayawada. Patna Municipal Corporation had claimed a 5-star city rating for the latest assessment, but its previous rating was 3-star. The corporation has now received three national awards in total. In Swachh Survekshan 2023, Patna had secured first place in Bihar, a Water Plus certificate and a 1-star Garbage Free City rating. Officials attributed the latest recognition to door-to-door waste collection, regulated disposal of legacy waste, improved solid waste management, resolution of public grievances and increased public participation in the cleanliness drive.

What is the Swachh Survekshan survey and when did it begin?

Swachh Survekshan is an annual cleanliness survey of urban local bodies conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban). The first survey was launched in 2016 with 73 cities, and it has since expanded to cover thousands of cities and towns. The survey ranks cities on parameters such as door-to-door waste collection, processing of municipal solid waste, open defecation free status, and citizen feedback. The Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) itself was launched on 2 October 2014 to achieve a clean India by 2 October 2019, and it was later extended as Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 until 2025-26 with a focus on garbage-free cities and sustainable sanitation.

What factors contributed to Patna's recognition?

The municipal corporation's performance was assessed on door-to-door waste collection, regulated disposal of legacy waste, improved solid waste management, resolution of public grievances and increased public participation in the cleanliness campaign. These factors together helped Patna secure the State First Swachh City award, though it did not achieve the 5-star city rating it had claimed.

Which cities led in other categories?

In the clean riverfront category, Rewa ranked first, followed by Bilaspur and Varanasi. Among clean coastal cities, Puri topped the list, with Alappuzha second and Ratnagiri third. In the 20,000–50,000 population group, Vita in Maharashtra won first place. For cities with a population below 20,000, Bilha in Chhattisgarh ranked first, Panchgani second and Budhni third. Among mentor-mentee city pairs, Ahmedabad and Sanand ranked first, Indore and Depalpur second, and Tirupati and Kuppam third.