Bengaluru ranks 36th among 44 Indian cities in Swachh Survekshan audit

Bengaluru has secured the 36th position out of 44 cities in the “above 10 lakh population” category in the Swachh Survekshan 2024, the annual cleanliness survey conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).

In the previous year, the “above 10 lakh” category was dropped. However, in 2022, Bengaluru had ranked 43rd among 45 participating cities in the same category. This year’s result marks an improvement of eight positions compared to the 2022 ranking. In 2023, Bengaluru ranked 125th out of 446 cities in the “above one lakh population” category.

Top performers

Gujarat’s Ahmedabad topped the “above 10 lakh” category with a score of 12,079, followed closely by Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) with 12,067 points and Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) with 12,001. Bengaluru scored 6,842.

In the “Super Swachh League City” category, Mysuru secured 5th place. In the State-wise rankings, Bengaluru stood at 15th. Davangere emerged as the top-performing city in Karnataka with a score of 9,131, followed by Hubballi-Dharwad and Hosadurga.

‘Room for improvement’

BBMP Chief Commissioner M. Maheshwar Rao acknowledged that Bengaluru has room for improvement and expressed confidence in better results in the future. “We have good plans for managing construction debris and solid waste, which will improve our standing in the next survey. We are currently transitioning to an Integrated Solid Waste Management system. Once that is in place, we will rank better,” Mr. Rao told The Hindu.

However, activists say that Bengaluru should have done much better.

“Bengaluru is losing score in a few parameters consistently since the last three Swachh Survekshan audits, among which is waste processing,” V. Ramprasad, a civic activist, said.

He said that Mysuru has improved substantially despite collecting less money from people when compared to Bengaluru.

How is it calculated

Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) were assessed quarterly across four phases. They updated their Management Information System (MIS) monthly, which was validated through citizen feedback and reviewed by third-party assessors. Indicator-wise progress was documented and verified during the final survey in February 2025. 

The new Swachh Survekshan indicators focused on cleanliness, waste segregation, collection, processing, landfill and dumpsite management, wastewater treatment, reuse, and faecal sludge management. MoHUA conducted virtual sessions with States and ULBs to explain the methodology. Citizen engagement was vital, supported by digital, social, and traditional media campaigns to raise awareness and promote participation in the cleanliness mission.