Swachh Survekshan 2025-26 Awards! Madhya Pradesh Leads India With Nine National Honours, Rewa Tops Clean Riverfront Category

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Madhya Pradesh secured nine national awards across eight of the 24 categories in Swachh Survekshan 2025-26, with nine cities from the state receiving recognition at the national level, the highest representation by any state in the country.

Jabalpur secured second position among cities with a population of over 10 lakh, Indore-Depalpur finished second in the Swachh City Pair category, while Rewa bagged first position in the Clean Riverfront category. President Droupadi Murmu presented the awards at a ceremony held at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Of the 24 categories in the national cleanliness survey, awards were presented in eight categories, with Madhya Pradesh securing nine of the 63 national awards announced this year.

Speaking to Free Press, MP urban administration and development department additional commissioner and managing director of the MP Swachh Bharat Mission Shishir Gemawat said two categories, Coastal Cities and Himalayan Towns, were geographically inapplicable to Madhya Pradesh. Had these categories been accessible, the state could potentially have secured two additional awards.

CM congratulated cities and 'Safai Mitras'

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav congratulated residents, urban local body teams, public representatives and sanitation workers ('Safai Mitras') for the achievement.

He said Madhya Pradesh had transformed cleanliness from an administrative campaign into a mass movement through public participation and the tireless efforts of sanitation workers.

Emphasising the slogan 'Badhayein Haath, Karein Safai Saath', he said the recognition reflected the collective commitment of the state's citizens.

IN BOX

What put MP cities ahead in India?

- The Swachh City Pair initiative emerged as a major highlight, with Indore mentoring Depalpur. Under the partnership, Depalpur implemented 100% door-to-door waste collection, four-category source segregation and scientific processing of legacy waste, helping it secure second position nationally.

- Jabalpur's performance was supported by its 11.5-MW waste-to-energy plant, more than 150 rejuvenated backlanes and daily monitoring of around 550 tonnes of waste through 491 GPS-enabled vehicles.

- Ujjain achieved 100% waste segregation across all 54 wards and introduced innovative reuse of flowers collected from religious sites. Rewa's first-place finish in the Clean Riverfront category was supported by digital monitoring and a 24-hour command and control centre.

- Gwalior processed 5.50 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste, while Dewas and Sagar were recognised for improvements in waste management, recycling and public participation. Budhni maintained its national-level performance for the third consecutive year.

9 cities, 9 national recognitions

City

Category / Achievement

Indore

Second in Swachh City Pair (Mentor)

Depalpur

Second in Swachh City Pair (Mentee)

Jabalpur

Second among cities with over 10 lakh population

Ujjain

First among cities with 3-10 lakh population

Dewas

First among cities with 50,000-3 lakh population

Sagar

Third among cities with 50,000-3 lakh population

Budhni

Third among cities with less than 20,000 population

Rewa

First in Clean Riverfront category

Gwalior

State's first Clean City award