Srinagar, Sept. 14 -- Srinagar's fall from fourth place to 26th in India's Clean Air Survey should alarm the government.

A city that was counted among the country's better performers in 2023 has slipped sharply within three years.

The latest ranking raises a basic question: what went wrong?

The 2026 Swachh Vayu Survekshan, conducted under the Union government's National Clean Air Programme, placed Srinagar 26th among 39 cities with populations above one million.

Srinagar scored 162.6 points. Delhi, long associated with severe winter pollution, ranked 21st with 172 points. Lucknow topped the list, followed by Indore, Jabalpur and Bhopal.

The ranking itself needs careful reading. It is not a direct measure of pollution concentration al...