Swachh Survekshan 2026 — City Cleanliness Rankings + RTI

Quick answer. Swachh Survekshan is the annual cleanliness ranking of Indian cities run by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) under the Swachh Bharat Mission — Urban (SBM-U). The 2026 edition (covering FY 2025-26 data) ranked all 4,500+ cities/towns on a 9,500-point scale across four pillars: Service Level Progress, Citizen Voice, Direct Observation, and Certifications (ODF + Garbage-Free Star Rating). The official portal — swachhsurvekshan.gov.in — publishes the city-wise ranking, score breakdown, and certification status. If your city scores poorly, you can file an RTI to your Municipal Commissioner / ULB Commissioner / SBM-U City Mission Director demanding the field-data underlying the score and the action-plan for improvement.

• Service Level Progress (4,250 points) — door-to-door collection coverage, source segregation %, processing capacity, dump-site remediation, sewage treatment.
• Citizen Voice (2,250 points) — citizen feedback via the Swachhata App, on-call surveys, and field-team interactions.
• Direct Observation (2,500 points) — Quality Council of India (QCI) inspectors physically visit and score residential, commercial, and public spaces.
• Certifications (500 points) — ODF / ODF+ / ODF++ / Water+ for sanitation, Star Rating (1-7 stars) for garbage-free city status.

1. Open swachhsurvekshan.gov.in.
2. Click Results or Rankings in the top menu.
3. Pick your population category: >10 lakh, 3-10 lakh, 1-3 lakh, 50K-1 lakh, <50K, Cantonment Boards, Special category (NE/hill).
4. Pick your State.
5. Scroll to find your city. The dashboard shows: rank, total score / 9,500, per-pillar breakdown, ODF status, Star Rating.

• Indore — #1 cleanest city >10 lakh (8th consecutive year).
• Surat — #2 >10 lakh (Garbage-Free 7-star).
• Navi Mumbai — #3 >10 lakh.
• Vijayawada, Bhopal, Visakhapatnam, Pune, Mysuru — top 10 large-city tier.
• Mhow Cantt, Sasvad, Lonavala — top performers in smaller-city tiers.

Address: Municipal Commissioner (or CEO for smaller ULBs). Demand:

1. The detailed city-level score sheet (per-pillar, per-sub-indicator) used for Swachh Survekshan 2026.
2. The QCI Direct Observation team's inspection report.
3. The action-plan filed with MoHUA for the next ranking cycle.
4. The annual Swachh Bharat Mission — Urban budget utilization report for FY 2025-26.

Timeline: 30 days under §7(1) RTI Act 2005. Use RTI Drafter to generate the letter.

1. Get the RTI reply (or the deemed-refusal after 30 days).
2. Approach your Mayor with the gap analysis.
3. Place a question in the Municipal Standing Committee for action plan adoption.

If sanitation deficits are causing public health risk (e.g., open dumping, untreated sewage flowing into water source), the Direct Observation report + RTI evidence is admissible in a public-interest writ to the State High Court.

• ODF — every household has access to a toilet, every public toilet is operational.
• ODF+ — every public/community toilet is regularly cleaned, water-supplied, lit at night.
• ODF++ — full faecal sludge management — no untreated waste enters water bodies or land.
• Water+ — full safe disposal + reuse of treated wastewater.

If your city claims ODF but you observe open defecation, file an RTI with photographs to the State Mission Director, SBM-U demanding re-verification.

Only Indore and Surat held 7-star status in 2024.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) under the Swachh Bharat Mission — Urban. The actual on-ground assessment is conducted by the Quality Council of India (QCI) along with citizen feedback collected via the Swachhata App.

It's the most comprehensive available, but has known limitations: 25% of the score depends on citizen feedback (which can be influenced by the ULB), and the QCI Direct Observation is only a sample of the city. For ground truth, file RTI for actual collection-vehicle GPS logs and processing-plant tonnage data.

Typically announced in October-November after fiscal-year data closes. The 2026 edition was published in November 2025 covering FY 2024-25.

Ward-level scores aren't published publicly but are held in the QCI dataset. File an RTI to your ULB Commissioner asking for ward-wise score breakdown.

Yes — use the RTI Drafter and select “Municipal / Sanitation” as the topic. Or copy a ready template from our sample RTI for road-repair/garbage-collection guides.

• RTI for garbage collection delays
• RTI for blocked drains
• Garbage collection — city-by-city RTI guide
• Sewerage RTI — city-by-city
• PMAY Beneficiary Status Check 2026
• RTI Drafter — generate Section 6(1) RTI in 60 sec

• Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) — Swachh Survekshan Toolkit, latest revision.
• Quality Council of India — assessment methodology document.
• Swachh Bharat Mission — Urban operational guidelines.
• The Right to Information Act, 2005 — §6(1), §7(1), §4(1)(b)(xii).

Last reviewed: 5 May 2026 — RTI Wiki editorial team.