India's clean air rankings are out: Lucknow, Rourkela & Kalinga Nagar emerge at the top; see which cities made the list & which landed at the bottom

Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, along with Odisha’s Rourkela and Kalinga Nagar, emerged as the top performers in their respective categories at the fifth edition of the Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan Awards. The Union environment ministry honoured the cities for their efforts under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) on Monday.

The rankings were prepared using the Swachh Vayu Survekshan Framework, introduced in 2022-23. The framework assesses measures taken by cities to address major sources of air pollution, including road dust, vehicle emissions and industrial pollution.

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Lucknow tops clean air ranking among big cities

Lucknow secured the top position among cities and towns with populations of more than 10 lakh. Madhya Pradesh’s Indore and Jabalpur secured the second and third spots respectively.

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At the other end of the ranking, Rajasthan’s Kota, West Bengal’s Kolkata and Tamil Nadu’s Madurai were among the lowest performers in this population category.

Rourkela leads cities with 3 lakh to 10 lakh population

Odisha’s Rourkela emerged as the top-ranked city in the category covering populations between three lakh and 10 lakh.

Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad came second, followed by Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur. Bihar’s Gaya, Karnataka’s Gulbarga and Punjab’s Jalandhar were at the bottom of the category.

Kalinga Nagar tops smaller city category

Kalinga Nagar in Odisha claimed the first position among cities and towns with populations below three lakh. It was followed by fellow Odisha cities Angul and Talcher.

Nagaland’s Kohima, Punjab’s Dera Bassi and Meghalaya’s Byrnihat were ranked among the lowest performers in this category.

Justice Prakash Shrivastava highlights importance of clean air

Justice Prakash Shrivastava, former Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court and chief guest at the event, said the results showed that improving air quality was an achievable goal.

“The awardees have shown that clean air is not an aspiration but a practical goal that can be achieved with proper planning and ground-level implementation,” he said.

He also stressed that economic development and environmental protection could work together.

“Development and environmental conservation are not at cross purposes but can go together while maintaining the quality of life for the citizens. It is the responsibility of each citizen to ensure that generations to come are able to live in a clean environment,” he added.

NCAP records improvement in PM10 levels

The event also highlighted progress under the National Clean Air Programme, a flagship initiative aimed at improving air quality across 130 cities in 24 states and Union Territories.

According to the Union environment ministry, the programme has delivered positive results in reducing PM10 levels in 2025-26 compared with the 2017-18 baseline.

Of the 130 cities covered under NCAP, 108 recorded an improvement in PM10 levels. As many as 72 cities achieved reductions of more than 20 per cent, while 26 recorded reductions of more than 40 per cent.

The ministry also said 14 cities had met the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).

New NCAP compendium showcases air pollution control measures

A Compendium of Best Management Practices under NCAP was also released during the event. It documents air quality improvement measures adopted by cities and state pollution control boards.

The practices cover several areas, including road dust management, vehicular pollution, industrial emissions, solid waste and construction and demolition waste management.

The ministry said the collection could help other cities and pollution control boards replicate successful approaches.

“These best practices would be helpful in replicating them by other cities and SPCBs,” the ministry said.


Inputs from PTI