Indore, often lauded as India's cleanest city, has secured the top rank in the Swachh Vayu Survekshan 2025 among cities with a million-plus population. This survey assesses cities based on their implementation of air pollution mitigation measures under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP). The awards were presented on Tuesday by Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav.

However, despite this achievement, Indore faces a challenge concerning its PM10 levels, a key pollutant. Ironically, the city has reported an increase in the average annual concentration of PM10 in 2024-25 (83 μg/m3) compared to the 2017-18 level (82 μg/m3), marking a 1.2% rise. This increase raises concerns about the effectiveness of implemented measures in curbing this specific pollutant.

In contrast, several other cities with million-plus populations, such as Chennai (58 μg/m3), Varanasi (59 μg/m3), Bengaluru (68 μg/m3), and Hyderabad (81 μg/m3), have not only demonstrated lower PM10 concentrations than Indore in 2024-25 but have also achieved substantial reductions compared to their 2017-18 levels. This comparison highlights the varying degrees of success among cities in tackling PM10 pollution.

Notably, the Swachh Vayu Survekshan places a lower weightage on the reduction of PM10 concentration levels in the overall scoring. Consequently, Indore and other cities have managed to secure top positions despite reporting higher levels of this pollutant compared to others that are lower in the rankings.

Other cities also secured high rankings in the survey. Jabalpur, another city in Madhya Pradesh, secured the second position. Agra (Uttar Pradesh) and Surat (Gujarat) shared the third spot. Navi Mumbai was ranked fourth, and Kanpur was fifth.

In the category of cities with populations between 3 and 10 lakh, Amravati, Jhansi, Moradabad, and Alwar were among the awardees. Their initiatives included road infrastructure upgrades, large-scale plantation drives, management of demolition waste, and remediation of legacy waste. Among smaller cities with populations under 3 lakh, Dewas topped the list, followed by Parwanoo and Angul in second and third positions respectively.

Delhi, on the other hand, ranked 32nd among million-plus population cities. Despite this ranking, Delhi has shown improvement in its air quality. Delhi recorded 163 clean air days this year, equalling the 10-year high registered in 2022. The average AQI for July 2025 was 78, which is not only an improvement from recent years but also better than the lockdown year of 2020. From January through July 2025, Delhi maintained an average AQI of 184, an improvement over recent years.

The Swachh Vayu Survekshan is an initiative by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) to rank cities based on the implementation of activities approved under the city action plan and air quality in 130 NCAP cities. The objectives of the Swachh Vayu Survekshan are to create awareness among all sections of society, inform citizens about the health impacts related to exposure, compare air quality conditions at different locations/cities, and achieve the goal of NCAP "Clean air for all".

The government has allocated Rs. 20,130 crore for NCAP implementation and provided Rs. 13,237 crore as performance-linked grants to 130 cities since 2019. Through convergence with schemes like Smart Cities Mission, Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), AMRUT, SATAT, FAME-II, and Nagar Van Yojana, Rs. 73,350 crore has been mobilised.