Swachh Survekshan 2018: Welcome to Indore, India’s cleanest city

As per the Swachh Survekshan 2018, Indore in Madhya Pradesh is the cleanest city in the country.

New Delhi, May 17: Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, long ago propagated the virtue of cleanliness among Indians. Come 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched his pet project, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission), to encourage us to have clean and green surrounding.

The nationwide drive did bring a substantial amount of change (although a lot has to be done) on the ground, thanks to volunteers who took it upon themselves to keep the country spick and span.

On Wednesday, a government survey ranked cities across the country in terms of cleanliness. As per the Swachh Survekshan 2018, Indore in Madhya Pradesh is the cleanest city in the country. Bhopal, the capital city of Madhya Pradesh, came a close second in the survey.

Expressing happiness over topping the survey chart, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, "I am extremely happy. Drawing inspiration from the PM we are running Swachh Bharat Abhiyan across the state. I congratulate and thank all residents. It is due to their efforts. We will continue our efforts to maintain it."

The survey adds that Jharkhand is the "best-performing state in terms of cleanliness". Maharashtra stood at the second place behind Jharkhand in the Swachh Survekshan 2018, while Chhattisgarh was at the third position in the category of "best-performing states". The survey was released by Union housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri in the national capital.

Looking at the way citizens of big winning cities had turned Swachhata into a Jan Andolan, I am not surprised at the results. Congratulations #Indore & #Bhopal for a repeat performance at #1&2. Well done #Chandigarh for coming in 3rd.
Others will surely try & catch up next year. pic.twitter.com/M8PMQRn1QI

— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) May 16, 2018

Last year also, Indore and Bhopal topped the chart by figuring in the first and the second position among the cleanest cities in the country. This year, the survey has covered 4,203 cities, while in 2017 only 434 cities were surveyed. State ranking was introduced in this year's survey, which was conducted between January 4 and March 10.

If you are wondering which are the "worst-performing cities", in terms of cleanliness, then you have to wait for a while. The names of the "worst-performing cities" in the latest survey would be announced on the day the awards are presented to the winners, Puri added.