Massive growth in economy, technology or infrastructure cannot help improve quality of life if “our cities, towns & villages remained dirty", expressed Anand Mahindra while lauding the cities that won awards in the 'cleanest city' category of the 'Swachh Survekshan Awards, 2021'. 

Indore was adjudged India's cleanest city for the fifth time in a row in the central government's annual cleanliness awards. The second and third positions in the 'cleanest city' category of the 'Swachh Survekshan Awards, 2021' were secured by Surat and Vijayawada, respectively. Navi Mumbai and Pune were in the fourth and fifth spot on this list.  

The 10 top-ranked cleanest cities, having a population of more than one lakh, are Indore, Surat, Vijaywada, Navi Mumbai, New Delhi, Ambikapur, Tirupati, Pune, Noida and Ujjain. Lucknow has been ranked the lowest among 25 cities in the same category.

Mahindra took to Twitter on Sunday to congratulate them by saying,  Bravo to these cities. Even if our economy was to grow 10X, our digital ecosystem was to expand dramatically, or our physical infrastructure became world-class, the quality of our everyday lives would remain poor if our cities, towns & villages remained dirty. It’s that simple.

Under the survey, a total of nine cities -- Indore, Surat, New Delhi Municipal Council, Navi Mumbai, Ambikapur, Mysuru, Noida, Vijayawada and Patan -- have been certified with 5 star city ratings under the garbage-free city category while 143 cities have been rated as 3 star.

Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, having more than 100 urban local bodies, have been adjudged the second and third cleanest state in the country. In the category of states with less than 100 urban local bodies, Jharkhand has been ranked first, followed by Haryana and Goa.