Tidy triumph: Ahmedabad tops list of cleanest emerging cities in 1 million+ population category, beats Bhopal and Lucknow in Swachh Survekshan
AHMEDABAD: A cleaner and greener Ahmedabad has made it to the top tier of India's cleanest emerging cities. In the Swachh Survekshan 2024-25, the city was declared the cleanest city in the one-million population category in the Swachh Survekshan 2024-25.
The honour was presented by President Droupadi Murmu at Vigyan Bhavan on Thursday.
Ahmedabad, alongside Bhopal and Lucknow that rank second and third in the category, have emerged as 'new clean cities' that are frontrunners in urban cleanliness. Cities like Indore, Surat, and Navi Mumbai have advanced to the elite 'Super Swachh League'.
This milestone reflects years of groundwork by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), which has rolled out a data-driven, technology-backed solid waste management strategy.
Since Aug 2024, the city has achieved daily door-to-door collection from 25 lakh properties using 1,850 GPS-enabled vehicles and 9,000 sanitation workers. Mechanical road sweepers, along with a cleanliness mapping of over 43,000 points of interest (POIs), have kept the city visibly cleaner, said Vijay Mistry, director of AMC's solid waste management department.
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One of the city's biggest environmental wins has been the transformation of the Pirana dumpsite.
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"The AMC remediated legacy waste, converting it into refuse-derived fuel and construction material," Mistry added. Citizens, too, have played a key role. The 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle' and 'My Thaili' drives have mobilized self-help group women to encourage sustainable practices across neighbourhoods. Enforcement on littering and non-compliance has been strictly monitored.
Municipal commissioner Banchha Nidhi Pani credited the strong foundation laid by former commissioner M Thennarasan for this national recognition. "This is not just a win for AMC but for every citizen who participated in the city's cleanliness journey," he said.
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Time of India
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