Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan: Indore bags top spot for cleanest air

Indore, Amravati and Parwanoo secured the top position in the country as cities with cleanest air, while Madurai, Jammu and Kohima came last in the Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan-2023 (clean air survey) released by Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav in Bhopal on Thursday.

Cities were put in three categories on the basis of their population for the purpose of the survey.

In million-plus population category, Indore in Madhya Pradesh ranked first as the city with cleanest air, followed by Agra (Uttar Pradesh) and Thane (Maharashtra), Madurai (Tamil Nadu), Howrah (West Bengal) and Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) were the bottom three cities ranked 46, 45 and 44, respectively. Delhi was ranked ninth while Bhopal secured the fifth position.

In the second category (for cities with 300,000 to 1 million population), Amravati (Maharashtra) secured first rank followed by Moradabad (UP) and Guntur (Andhra Pradesh), while Jammu, Guwahati (Assam) and Jalandhar (Punjab) were the bottom three cities ranked 38, 37 and 36, respectively.

In the third category (less than 300,000 population), Parwanoo in Himachal Pradesh secured the first rank, followed by Kala Amb (Himachal Pradesh) and Angul (Odisha). Kohima, the capital city of Nagaland, came last at 39th rank.

“This year, fourth International Day of Clean Air for blue skies (Swachh Vayu Diwas 2023) is to create stronger partnerships, increase investment, and share responsibility for overcoming air pollution, with the global theme of ‘Together for Clean Air’,” Yadav said at the event.

He added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August 2020 announced his vision to improve air quality in over 100 cities through a comprehensive approach. “Following this, the ministry of environment, forest, and climate change launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) as a national strategy, reorienting activities to reduce air pollution at the city and regional levels,” the minister said.

A total of 131 cities have been identified for the implementation of the city-specific action plans under this programme, Yadav added.

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was also present at the event, said Indore has developed a habit of coming first in all competitions. “Love for nature and the environment is deeply rooted in Indian values. Indian culture cautions that nature should not be exploited but conserved... Madhya Pradesh is following this principal to take care of things,” Chouhan added.