16 Uttar Pradesh cities feature in national clean air rankings; Lucknow tops list

Lucknow has topped the national rankings in the Swachh Vayu Survekshan 2026 in the category of cities with population of more than 10 lakh while 15 other Uttar Pradesh cities have also secured places in different categories the state government said in an official statement issued MondayLucknow scored 198 points to finish first ahead of Indore with 197 and Jabalpur with 195 the government said adding that the rankings were based on a survey conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board and the Union Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate ChangeIn the over10lakh population category Agra finished fourth with 192 points Ghaziabad ninth with 184 Kanpur 11th with 1832 and Prayagraj 13th with 180 Meerut and Varanasi were ranked 22nd and 34th respectivelyIn the category of cities with population between three lakh and 10 lakh Firozabad secured second place with 195 points while Jhansi ranked fifth with 1925 points Moradabad and Noida jointly secured eighth place with 1875 points each Gorakhpur and Bareilly were ranked 22nd and 26thAmong cities with population below three lakh Raebareli ranked 17th followed by Anpara at 29th Khurja at 30th and Gajraula at 31stAt the ward level Lucknows Ward 70 topped the national ranking among urban wards with more than 30000 population while Prayagrajs Ward 31 secured third place in the 1000030000 population categoryUttar Pradesh Urban Development and Energy Minister Arvind Kumar Sharma said Lucknows firstplace finish was a major achievement for the stateLucknow has for the first time surpassed Indore to secure the first position in the country in clean air conservation This achievement is a new inspiration for Uttar Pradesh Sharma said according to the statementThe government said the rankings reflected coordinated efforts by the urban development department local bodies and the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board under the National Clean Air ProgrammeIt said Lucknow Municipal Corporation received the first prize of Rs 15 crore in its category while Firozabad Municipal Corporation received Rs 25 lakh Lucknow Ward 70 received Rs 50 lakh and Prayagraj Ward 31 Rs 20 lakhThe government attributed Lucknows performance to measures including electric transport roaddust control scientific waste management and expansion of green cover It said around 1100 electric vehicles were being used for doortodoor waste collection while 140 electric buses 97 mechanised electric sweeping machines 12 charging stations and 916 charging points are operational in the cityThe government said 55985 km of roads had been paved endtoend and Lucknow has arrangements for scientific processing of waste with a capacity of 2550 tonnes per dayLucknow Mayor Sushma Kharakwal attributed the achievement to the collective efforts of the government residents councillors and municipal employees according to the statementThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever