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Home News Lucknow Tops India's 2026 Clean-Air Survey

Lucknow Tops India's 2026 Clean-Air Survey

Sep 9, 2026
75 min
9
Sep 9, 2026 07:32
Who beat Indore by one point in India’s clean-air survey?

## Lucknow Leads Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2026

Lucknow has claimed the top spot in India's Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2026, narrowly surpassing Indore by a single point. This achievement was announced during the Swachh Vayu Diwas 2026, an event organized by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to celebrate the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies.

## Key Initiatives in Lucknow

The Uttar Pradesh capital's success is attributed to several initiatives aimed at enhancing air quality. These include integrating electric vehicles into the municipal waste-management fleet, using mechanized road-sweeping machines to reduce road dust, and addressing legacy waste sites.

## Rankings and Evaluations

Indore secured the second position, with Jabalpur coming in third among cities with populations exceeding one million. Delhi and Mumbai were ranked 30th and 37th, respectively. Chennai, Jamshedpur, Kota, Kolkata, and Madurai were among the lowest-ranked cities in this category.

The survey evaluated 130 cities across three population groups. The assessment process involved self-evaluation by cities, reviews by State-level Monitoring Committees, and field verification by independent committees, alongside assessments by the Central Pollution Control Board.

## National Clean Air Programme Progress

Justice Prakash Shrivastava, Chairperson of the National Green Tribunal, commended the progress made under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP). The government reported that 108 out of 130 cities showed improved PM10 levels in 2025-26 compared to 2017-18, with significant reductions in many cities. To support these efforts, Rs16,425 crore in performance-linked grants were provided to the participating cities.

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