NAGPUR: The Swachh Survekshan 2024-2025 results, announced by President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday, placed Nagpur at the 27th position among 40 citiesin the million-plus population category, indicating a concerning stagnation in the city’s cleanliness performance and sanitation standards.While Indore, Surat, Navi Mumbai, and Vijayawada secured top ranks under the Swachh Survekshan League (SSL) for consistent performance throughout the year, Nagpur scored a total of 9,328 points, trailing behind several cities both nationally and within Maharashtra.Cities like Ahmedabad (ranked 1),Bhopal (2), and Raipur (4) outperformed Nagpur, as did Pimpri Chinchwad (7), Pune (8), Thane (15), Nashik (22), and Kalyan Dombivli (24) from within the state. Despite ongoing efforts by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) to improve solid waste management, the city once again failed to secure even asingle star in the Garbage Free City (GFC) rating. This reflects serious gaps in scientific waste processing, management of legacy waste, and public engagementin source segregation. Nagpur has retained its Water+ certification under the Open DefecationFree (ODF) category, largely due to initiatives involving the reuse of treated sewage and adequate coverage of public toilets. However, the city’s applicationfor an upgraded Water++ certification was rejected, indicating that it failed to meet the higher benchmarks required for the advanced status.
