New Delhi, Nov 14: The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has recognised three successful city partnerships under the Swachh Shehar Jodi initiative for their efforts to improve urban cleanliness, waste management and sanitation through shared learning and cooperation.
The awards were announced on November 11 during the 10th edition of Swachh Survekshan 2025-26 in New Delhi. President Droupadi Murmu presented the awards in the presence of Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal and Minister of State Tokhan Sahu.
Ahmedabad and Sanand secured the first position, followed by Indore and Depalpur in second place. Tirupati and Kuppam received the third position. The awards recognise the combined efforts of mentor and mentee cities in improving cleanliness and public services.
Launched in September 2025 under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, the initiative brings together 70 mentor cities and around 191 mentee cities across 33 States and Union Territories. It encourages experienced cities to share their knowledge and successful practices with other urban centres.
Odisha is also part of the programme, with partnerships including Aska-Odagaon, Bhubaneswar-Joda and Chikiti-Nilagiri. These collaborations offer opportunities to improve local sanitation systems and strengthen waste management practices.
This year’s Swachh Survekshan assessed 4,751 Urban Local Bodies across 176 sub-indicators in 10 sections. More than 3,000 trained field assessors conducted ground-level assessments, supported by GPS-enabled monitoring and digital verification.
A total of 60 national awards were announced across seven categories, recognising achievements in city cleanliness, riverfront and coastal sanitation, Himalayan towns and State-level performance.
Through the Swachh Shehar Jodi programme, the Ministry aims to make cities active partners in improving urban sanitation. The initiative encourages local bodies to learn from one another and adopt practical solutions to build cleaner and healthier communities.
