India's cleanest city Indore slips from top spot in clean air survey; The mayor takes steps against pollution

In the survey, Indore, the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh, scored 197 points out of 200 in the category of cities with a population of over 1 million, while Lucknow topped the list with 198 points. Representative file image. | Photo credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

The local administration has blamed PM10 – dangerous airborne particles – for Indore falling from first to second in the 2026 clean air survey and has announced tougher measures to reduce air pollution in India’s cleanest city.

Jabalpur was ranked third with 195 points, while Bhopal and Agra shared the fourth spot with 192 points.

Indore, which topped the list with a score of 200 out of 200 in the 2025 survey, fell just one point behind Lucknow and did not retain its position.

The Uttar Pradesh capital emerged as the top performer under the National Clean Air Program (NCAP) alongside Odisha’s Rourkela and Kalinga Nagar, with the Union Environment Ministry felicitating their efforts at the fifth annual Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan Awards on Monday (September 7, 2026).

Cities and towns across the country were rated based on the Swachh Vayu Survekshan framework released in 2022-2023, which laid out measures to address road dust, vehicular emissions and industrial pollution, among others.

Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava told PTI on Tuesday (September 8, 2026), “We scored one point less than Lucknow in the survey because (the city) is lagging behind PM10 norms. Indore is the city with the highest vehicular density in Madhya Pradesh.”

Mr. Bhargava assured that steps would be taken throughout the year to reduce pollution from traffic and industry in the city, including PM10.

He said public awareness initiatives such as “red light on, engine off” on traffic signals, promotion of electric vehicles and operation of e-buses will be accelerated to reduce pollution from vehicles.

Mr. Bhargava further said that concrete efforts will also be made to convert all door-to-door garbage collection vehicles to electric and to shift factories from diesel to green fuels like CNG.

PM10 (Particulate Matter-10) are very fine particles present in the air with a diameter of 10 micrometers or less. These particles are produced by vehicle exhaust, road dust and industrial emissions and enter the human respiratory system through breathing.

Key parameters of the Clean Air Survey include measures taken by city authorities to reduce PM10 levels.

Officials said that despite trailing Lucknow by just one point in the clean air survey, Indore’s overall air quality record remains strong.

According to data from the Indore Municipal Corporation, the city has seen a drop of over 15% in PM10 compared to previous years, with the annual average level of PM10 hovering around 81 micrograms per cubic meter this year.

The National Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) set the annual average level of PM10 in air at 60 micrograms per cubic meter for residential, industrial and rural areas.

According to city corporation data, Indore’s Air Quality Index (AQI) remained below 200 on an average on more than 98% days during the evaluation period of the Clean Air Survey.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered “good”, 51 to 100 “satisfactory”, 101 to 200 “moderate”, 201 to 300 “poor”, 301 to 400 “very poor”, and 401 to 500 “all”.

Officials of the municipality are said to control the dust, in the city about 700 kilometers of roads are swept by machines every day and various measures are taken to dispose of construction waste.

Indore has topped the National Sanitation Survey eight times in a row, a stand-alone city rating competition run by the central government.

Published – 9 Sep 2026 10:48 IST