The city that’s been India’s cleanest for years, the one people always hold up as the example. Well, this week it slipped a bit.
In the new clean air survey – Swachh Vayu Survekshan 2026 – Indore scored 197 out of 200. Lucknow got 198. One single point. That’s all. And just like that, Indore went from first to second among the big cities.
Last year Indore had a full 200. Perfect score. This time that one missing point cost them the top place. The mayor, Pushyamitra Bhargava, said it straight – they lagged a little on the PM10 side. Those fine dust particles that come from cars, road dust, construction, factories. Indore has the most vehicles in Madhya Pradesh, so that part makes sense.
But the city still improved. The average PM10 level dropped from 85 to 81. Over the years it’s come down more than 15 percent. Most days the air quality stayed decent, under 200. So the work is there. It just wasn’t enough to stay number one this time.
Lucknow did well. They put more electric vehicles into waste collection, started using machines to sweep the roads and cut dust, cleaned up old garbage dumps. Their actual PM10 number is still higher than Indore’s, but the survey gives a lot of marks for the steps cities take, not only the final number. That’s how Lucknow climbed up and took the first place.
Jabalpur came third. Bhopal and Agra were next, both with the same score. Surat after that. The really big cities – Delhi, Mumbai – were much lower down the list.
What’s interesting about this survey is that it doesn’t only look at how clean or dirty the air is. It checks what the city is actually doing about it – controlling dust, managing traffic smoke, handling industrial pollution, stopping people from burning waste. It’s more about the effort than just the reading on the machine.
Indore people are used to being on top. For years they’ve won the main cleanliness awards. The way they handle garbage, the way people join in – it’s become part of who the city is. So this one-point loss stings a little. At the same time, the mayor has already said they’ll keep working the whole year, not just when the next survey is near. More focus on traffic, more electric vehicles, better dust control – all that will continue.
It’s a small reminder. Even the best cities can’t relax. Traffic keeps growing, construction never stops, dust is always there. One year of slightly slower progress and the ranking moves. Next year it can move back if they stay consistent.
Lucknow earned this. They put in the work and jumped up. For Indore, second place is still good. But you can already feel they won’t be happy sitting there for long.
That’s the whole thing. One point. Two cities. And the rest of us still trying to breathe cleaner air while the cities keep growing.
Sources:
The Hindu, Business Standard, Times of India, Economic Times, Hindustan Times, and the official results of Swachh Vayu Survekshan 2026.
@Rohit Manral
