Kerala marked a proud moment on the national stage as two of its urban local bodies bagged major recognitions at the Union Government’s Swachh Survekshan Awards 2025–26. President Droupadi Murmu presented the awards at a national ceremony organised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

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Coastal glory for Alappuzha

In a major highlight for the state, Alappuzha secured second place nationally in the newly introduced 'Swachh Coastal Town' category for urban areas with populations between 50,000 and 3 lakh. Odisha's Puri took first rank, while Maharashtra's Ratnagiri came third. The new coastal category was introduced to recognise that keeping coastlines clean is vital for environmental sustainability and local livelihoods.

Meanwhile, Mattannur (Kannur) earned the distinction of being named Kerala’s 'State First Swachh City'. This award recognises the top-performing urban local body within each state to celebrate local sanitation achievements.

How the national survey evaluated cities

The 10th edition of Swachh Survekshan evaluated urban local bodies across 43 indicators in 10 critical domains. These covered waste segregation, door-to-door waste collection, solid waste management, sanitation access, and citizen grievance redressal. More than 3,000 trained assessors conducted on-ground evaluations across India using digital, GPS-enabled monitoring systems.

Nationwide, smaller towns drove significant progress during this edition. Over 1,700 cities with populations under 50,000 improved their rankings compared to the previous year.

Stressing community involvement, President Droupadi Murmu noted that "cleanliness cannot be achieved through the efforts of any single institution alone and requires active participation from all stakeholders". Union Minister Shri Manohar Lal added that "the real success of Swachh Survekshan lies not merely in improving rankings but in making cleanliness a permanent habit and collective responsibility".

State-level award ceremonies will be conducted in Kerala to formally honour the winning local bodies.