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

Lucknow ( Vivek Ojha) : 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 Monday.

Lucknow 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 Change.

In the over-10-lakh population category, Agra finished fourth with 192 points, Ghaziabad ninth with 184, Kanpur 11th with 183.2 and Prayagraj 13th with 180. Meerut and Varanasi were ranked 22nd and 34th, respectively.

In the category of cities with population between three lakh and 10 lakh, Firozabad secured second place with 195 points, while Jhansi ranked fifth with 192.5 points. Moradabad and Noida jointly secured eighth place with 187.5 points each. Gorakhpur and Bareilly were ranked 22nd and 26th.

Among cities with population below three lakh, Raebareli ranked 17th, followed by Anpara at 29th, Khurja at 30th and Gajraula at 31st.

At the ward level, Lucknow's Ward 70 topped the national ranking among urban wards with more than 30,000 population, while Prayagraj's Ward 31 secured third place in the 10,000-30,000 population category.

Uttar Pradesh Urban Development and Energy Minister Arvind Kumar Sharma said Lucknow's first-place finish was a major achievement for the state."Lucknow 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 statement.

The 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 Programme.It said Lucknow Municipal Corporation received the first prize of Rs 1.5 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 lakh.

The government attributed Lucknow's performance to measures including electric transport, road-dust control, scientific waste management and expansion of green cover. It said around 1,100 electric vehicles were being used for door-to-door waste collection, while 140 electric buses, 97 mechanised electric sweeping machines, 12 charging stations and 916 charging points are operational in the city.

The government said 559.85 km of roads had been paved end-to-end and Lucknow has arrangements for scientific processing of waste with a capacity of 2,550 tonnes per day.Lucknow Mayor Sushma Kharakwal attributed the achievement to the collective efforts of the government, residents, councillors and municipal employees, according to the statement.