SWACHH VAYU SARVEKSHAN 2026: Lucknow air cleanest, Indore's second best among cities with million-plus people, Pg9

Key Highlights:

• Lucknow secured the top position in the Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2026 among cities with a million-plus population.
• Indore ranked second, and Jabalpur bagged the third prize in the same category.
• The rankings were announced in Delhi by National Green Tribunal (NGT) chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava.
• Cities are assessed based on interventions in waste management, road dust control, and pollution reduction.
• Delhi and Mumbai were ranked 30th and 37th, respectively, among the 47 million-plus cities.

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Detailed Insights:

• Lucknow's air quality improvement efforts included using electric vehicles for waste collection and deploying mechanised sweepers.
• Despite its top rank, Lucknow's PM10 concentration of 137 ug/m3 remains above the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) standard of 60 ug/m3.
• Lucknow has achieved a 45.2% reduction in PM10 concentrations since 2017-18, decreasing from 250 ug/m3 to 137 ug/m3.
• Jabalpur's initiatives included a waste-to-energy plant, 100% waste collection, and promotion of electric vehicles.
• In the 3-10 lakh population category, Rourkela topped, followed by Firozabad and Guntur jointly in second place.
• Kalinga Nagar won the first prize in the less than 3 lakh population category, with Angul and Talcher securing second and third positions.
• For the first time, municipal wards demonstrating improved air quality were also recognized in the survey.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan: An annual survey ranking Indian cities based on their efforts to improve air quality.
• National Green Tribunal (NGT): A statutory body established to handle environmental protection and conservation cases.
• National Clean Air Programme (NCAP): A national-level strategy to tackle air pollution across the country in a comprehensive manner.
• PM10: Particulate matter with a diameter of 10 micrometers or less, a common air pollutant.