President Droupadi Murmu presented the Swachh Survekshan 2025-26 national cleanliness awards at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi, recognizing top urban sanitation efforts across India.
Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal and Minister of State Tokhan Sahu attended the ceremony, led by Navi Mumbai capturing the top overall ranking.
Ending a nearly ten-year absence from the national cleanliness assessment, the historic town of Tarakeswar in West Bengal received national level recognition in the Swachh Survekshan rankings. Minister of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Agnimitra Paul traveled to New Delhi to accept the award from President Murmu at Vigyan Bhavan.
The municipality was recognized as West Bengal’s best mentioned city, placing first among the state’s 130 cities. Officials said that the town qualified after meeting more than 150 stringent cleanliness criteria evaluated during the survey.
The municipal administration divided Tarakeswar into 10 distinct zones operated by 14 supervisors and 180 sanitation workers working across day and night shifts.
Crews maintained a continuous presence around the Baba Tarakeswar temple and the sacred Dudhpukuri tank, deploying 50 to 60 workers per shift to clear discarded plastic containers, flowers, and bilva leaves. More than 500 metric tons of collected waste were transported to the Baidyabati Regional Waste Management Centre for scientific processing.
On the eve of Diwali, I am happy to share good news from New Delhi! Bengal is back on India's Swachhata map & what a time to return! 🪔 For 10 years, West Bengal did not participate in the annual Swachh Survekshan – a rigorous cleanliness assessment done for each city across… pic.twitter.com/KzntbfUl9A
Minister Paul praised the local administration and residents for their dedication, pointing to the leadership of the local legislator in maintaining cleanliness standards.
“We are taking initiatives everywhere on behalf of the Department of Urban Development regarding transparency. Steps have also been taken in Asansol. Besides, the Chief Minister had made a grand plan regarding the Shrabani Mela held in Tarakeswar. Lakhs of people came to the Shrabani Mela. Among them, the way the town of Tarakeswar was kept clean was unimaginable. The local MLA’s initiative was also quite sufficient. Therefore, we are very happy.”
Agnimitra Paul, Minister of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs, according to India Hood Bangla
In the national survey conducted by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Navi Mumbai claimed the top spot, ending Indore’s eight-year reign at number one. Surat placed second, and Vijayawada finished third. The evaluation relied on more than 3,000 trained assessors using GPS monitoring across more than 4,700 urban local bodies.
Following Tarakeswar’s milestone, the urban development department announced plans to introduce standard operating procedures involving local residents in ongoing sanitation maintenance, establishing inter-ward and inter-municipal competitions backed by official awards.
“This honor will undoubtedly encourage those who are working tirelessly to ensure cleanliness, civic awareness, and improved urban services. We hope to move forward by further strengthening this pledge to build a clean and beautiful city.”
Agnimitra Paul, Minister of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs, according to Sangbad Pratidin
