A view of Prayagraj
Prayagraj : Prayagraj suffered a setback in the national cleanliness rankings this year, failing to secure a place among the top three in the Clean Riverfront Cities category of the Swachh Survekshan 2025-26. In the category for cities with a population of more than 10 lakh, Visakhapatnam secured the top position, followed by Jabalpur and Lucknow. Prayagraj ranked 12th among cities in this population category in the previous survey, improving significantly from its 71st position in 2023-24. The ward was selected for the award after performing well in a survey conducted among wards of 130 cities under National Clean Air Programme. The city slipped six places, from seventh in the 2024-25 clean air survey to 13th in 2025-26, indicating that broader air-quality challenges remain despite improvement in one ward.
Stay updated with the latest Prayagraj news.
He said the previous competition was restricted to cities situated along Ganga, while this year, cities located along rivers were included, making the contest more competitive. In neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, Rewa bagged the first position, followed by Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh and Varanasi in UP. The result marks a sharp reversal for Prayagraj, which had emerged as the country’s cleanest Ganga city in the previous Swachh Survekshan. The city had then topped the Ganga Town category, highlighting its cleanliness and sanitation arrangements along the riverfront. However, its failure to make it to the top three in the latest riverfront cleanliness competition has raised questions over the consistency of sanitation and preparations by the Prayagraj Municipal Corporation. The result also brought a contrasting outcome for Varanasi. it secured the third position in the latest clean riverfront cities category While it had trailed Prayagraj in the previous survey. Additional municipal commissioner Shadab Aslam attributed the change in the riverfront category partly to the wider competition this year. Meanwhile, Prayagraj secured a national distinction in the clean air assessment, with its Jahangirabad ward securing the first position at the national level. The initiative seeks to encourage healthy competition among wards, recognise better-performing areas and create greater awareness among citizens about air pollution. Join conversation Share your thoughts in the comments Be respectful · TOI community guidelines The ward-level achievement, however, failed to translate into an improvement in Prayagraj’s overall clean air ranking. Download the TOI App.
The results were announced at the Swachh Survekshan awards ceremony held in New Delhi on Wednesday. The remaining rankings, apart from the top three, are likely to be announced on Thursday or Friday.