Ahmedabad/Surat/Vadodara: Gujarat’s cities earned top honours in Swachh Survekshan 2025-26, with Ahmedabad and Sanand jointly securing the first position nationally in the clean city pair category, Surat retaining its second rank in the Super Swachhata League for the second consecutive year, and Vadodara being declared the cleanest city in the state.President Droupadi Murmu presented the awards at a ceremony in New Delhi on Wednesday, recognising the cities’ achievements in urban cleanliness and waste management.Ahmedabad and Sanand topped the mentor-mentee city category under the clean city pair segment, which promotes excellence in urban waste management through partnerships between cities, according to a govt statement issued on Thursday.Surat continued its strong performance by securing second place nationally in the Super Swachhata League category for cities with populations exceeding 10 lakh, while Vadodara received recognition as Gujarat’s cleanest city.Chief minister Bhupendra Patel congratulated the civic bodies and residents of the three cities, saying Gujarat had successfully transformed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cleanliness campaign into a mass movement. In a post on X, Patel said the achievement belonged to civic bodies, safai mitras, municipal teams and citizens who had turned cleanliness into a true jan andolan. He urged people to continue contributing towards a cleaner and more developed Gujarat.Ahmedabad mayor Hitesh Barot, who received the award in New Delhi, said the city’s national cleanliness award recognised the collective efforts of sanitation workers, civic officials, elected representatives and residents.He credited sanitation workers for their sustained efforts, officials for their guidance and citizens for their cooperation. Barot said the joint recognition for Ahmedabad and Sanand was a matter of pride and urged residents to support cleanliness drives, segregate waste and maintain hygiene in public spaces.He added that continued public participation would be essential to preserve Ahmedabad’s clean, healthy and disease-free environment and retain the honour in the years ahead.Vadodara’s performance has improved significantly, rising from 42nd position two years ago to 18th last year and now entering the Top 10 nationally. Although the final Swachh Survekshan 2025-26 rankings are yet to be announced, the city has already been declared Gujarat’s cleanest.Vadodara municipal commissioner Arun Mahesh Babu attributed the progress to stronger cleanliness drives, increased public participation and stricter monitoring. The civic body is working towards making Vadodara a bin-less city by gradually removing public garbage bins. Most areas have been covered, with some work pending in the north zone. Garbage-vulnerable points are also being closely monitored and cleared regularly.“Ranking motivates us, but visible cleanliness and overall swachhata are more important,” Babu said, adding that maintaining cleanliness remains the city’s highest priority.In Surat, municipal corporation officials expressed confidence of securing the top rank next year. Standing committee chairman Rajesh Patel said the city missed the top spot due to issues related to hotfix plastic waste management. He said the civic body had identified a solution and would implement a disposal system within the next few months. Surat is also expanding its solid waste management network by deploying 20 additional collection vehicles in each zone and extending door-to-door waste collection services to new areas.Urban development minister Kanu Desai, minister of state for urban development Darshana Vaghela and representatives of the respective municipal corporations received the awards on behalf of the cities.
