Indore cleanest city in India for 8 years straight: How it achieved the unthinkable

In the 2025 Swachh Survekshan Awards announced on 17 July by President Droupadi Murmu, Indore in Madhya Pradesh was once again named India’s cleanest city, for an unprecedented eighth consecutive year. It beat out Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh and Mysuru in Karnataka, who came second and third nationally. The annual survey, conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, is the world’s largest cleanliness assessment exercise and covers thousands of urban local bodies across India.

Indore’s feat in 2025 reaffirms its place as the national benchmark for urban cleanliness. But what has made this city of 35 lakh people such a consistent performer? The answer lies in a mix of committed leadership, robust systems, constant innovation, and deep-rooted community involvement.

A culture of cleanliness, not merely compliance

When Indore first won the top spot in 2017, it surprised many. But local officials were already working on solid waste management reforms since 2015, hardly a year after the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission. By 2019, Indore had already achieved 100% door-to-door collection and segregation of household waste. Today, segregation at source happens in six categories and covers every ward, every day.

Collection is done by a fleet of over 850 GPS-enabled vehicles, each assigned to different waste streams. Dry waste, wet waste, hazardous waste, sanitary waste — nothing is mixed. Waste from households goes to transfer stations, from where it is further sorted and processed at central facilities.

From garbage to green energy: Waste-to-wealth model

A key to Indore’s long-term success has been its transformation of waste into resources. The city has cleared its legacy dumpsite at Devguradia, processing over 1.3 million metric tonnes of accumulated waste. In its place, it built Asia’s largest bio-CNG plant, which processes 550 tonnes of wet waste every day.

This plant alone powers 150 city buses and earns the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) revenue from bio-CNG sales and carbon credits, reportedly in the range of ₹8–14 crore annually. Compost is generated from organic waste and sold to farmers and nurseries.

Recyclables are sold after being cleaned and processed at material recovery facilities. Construction and demolition waste is reused for making paver blocks and road base material. The city now generates negligible landfill waste.

People make missions successful

Behind the clean streets is a deeply involved community. Indore has changed public attitudes towards sanitation by blending civic pride with constant communication. From catchy jingles like "Ho Halla" blaring from garbage trucks, to community WhatsApp groups, awards for clean neighbourhoods, and regular sanitation drives led by citizens, cleanliness has become a people’s movement.

Schools, colleges, religious institutions and market associations are all involved in promoting hygiene and waste reduction. The IMC also runs Bartan Banks (for borrowing steel utensils instead of using disposables at events) and Jhola Banks (for cloth bag distribution), helping reduce plastic use.

Further, the city has integrated informal sector workers by formalising ragpickers into waste management teams, giving them uniforms, equipment and salaries. Nearly 8,500 sanitation workers, or 'Safai Mitras', are deployed daily and are publicly acknowledged for their efforts.

Strong governance, smart solutions

Indore’s cleanliness push is driven by efficient urban governance. The IMC leadership, both political and administrative, has remained focused and has had the freedom to innovate. The Municipal Commissioner directly monitors performance, aided by data dashboards, real-time GPS tracking, and mobile feedback apps.

Penalties for littering, urinating in public, or open dumping are strictly enforced. Over 2,000 public toilets have been built or upgraded, and urinals are cleaned three times daily. CCTV surveillance helps identify violators and track garbage collection routes.

The city has integrated Smart City initiatives with its cleanliness mission, including rejuvenation of water bodies like the Kanh and Saraswati rivers, LED street lighting, and solar rooftop panels in public buildings.

Recognition and replication

In 2025, Indore also topped the Swachh Bharat League's 'Super Swachh' category and continued to serve as a model city for others. The Union government is now encouraging 'twin-city' partnerships, where cities struggling with waste management learn from Indore’s systems.

Neighbouring Ujjain also featured in this year’s list as the 'Cleanest Medium City' (3–10 lakh population), and Dewas, another Madhya Pradesh city, won for best innovation practices in the 1–3 lakh category—showing how Indore’s influence has spread across the region.

The road ahead

While Indore’s achievements are impressive, officials say the job isn’t done. The next challenge is to reduce waste generation at source, promote home composting, and digitise waste tracking down to individual households. There are also plans to scale up the bio-CNG plant and expand green cover through urban forests.

With its citizens acting as co-owners of the mission, Indore continues to set the gold standard. It shows that a clean city isn’t all about sweeping streets; it’s about creating a system where technology, governance and people work together every single day.

Indore’s journey is no longer an ordinary story of civic pride; it’s a blueprint for a cleaner, healthier urban India.