NAVI MUMBAI and NEW DELHI, Nov. 12 -- Navi Mumbai has emerged as India's cleanest city, followed by Surat and Vijayawada, in the centre's Swachh Survekshan Awards 2025-26, marking a change at the top after Indore dominated the cleanliness rankings for eight consecutive years. President Droupadi Murmu conferred the 10th edition of the awards at a ceremony at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Wednesday. Indore, which had held the country's cleanest city tag for eight successive years, did not figure among the top three in the National Clean City category this year. Navi Mumbai, on the other hand, was ranked third in the previous assessment. Its latest achievement caps a three-to-four-year campaign guided by the civic body's slogan, 'Nishchay Kela, Number Pahila' (Determined to be Number One). The 10th edition of the survey evaluated more than 4,751 cities in various categories across 43 indicators covering ten assessment areas. These included waste segregation, solid waste management, access to sanitation and used water management. More than 3,000 trained assessors conducted the evaluation using real-time GPS monitoring and digital verification processes. The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) attributes the achievement to improvements in sanitation operations, technology-driven monitoring and citizen participation. An Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) is used to monitor garbage collection and transportation, while segregated waste is processed scientifically. The corporation has also promoted treated wastewater reuse and recycling of materials for public amenities, including a dedicated textile waste recycling facility,.which the civic body describes as a first of its kind. It also holds a seven-star Garbage-Free City rating and Water Plus certification under the Swachh Bharat Mission, reflecting its efforts in solid waste management and sanitation. Dedicating the awards to residents and sanitation workers, mayor Sujata Patil said, "This is an extremely proud and joyful moment for every Navi Mumbaikar. I dedicate this national recognition to all citizens, particularly our Swachhata Mitras and Swachhata Sakhis, who have worked tirelessly to keep the city clean." Patil received the award from the President along with deputy mayor Dashrath Bhagat, municipal commissioner Dr Kailas Shinde and city engineer Shirsh Aradwad. Bhagat highlighted the contribution of sanitation workers. He expressed confidence that the corporation's forthcoming Sugandhit Shahar (Fragrant City) campaign would further strengthen its cleanliness initiatives. Shinde applauded the role of technology in the achievement. "The use of advanced technology in sanitation operations, along with the active participation of citizens, has played an important role in this achievement. The contribution of our sanitation workers and residents has been crucial in taking Navi Mumbai to the first position," he said. The Swachh Survekshan Awards recognised cities across India in various groupings. In the population-based categories, Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) topped the rankings among cities with more than 1 million residents, followed by Jabalpur and Lucknow. Ujjain emerged as the cleanest city in the 300,000-million population category, with Chandigarh and Guntur taking the second and third positions, respectively. Dewas topped the 50,000-300,000 population category, followed by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and Sagar. In the 20,000-50,000 population category, Maharashtra's Vita secured the first position, followed by Aska and Panaji. Bilha topped the category of cities with fewer than 20,000 residents, ahead of Panchgani and Budni. The awards also recognised cities for their performance in specialised categories. Madhya Pradesh's Rewa topped the Swachh River Front Town category, followed by Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur and Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi. Odisha's Puri emerged as the cleanest coastal town, followed by Alappuzha in Kerala and Ratnagiri in Maharashtra....