5th Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan Awards
Why in News?
The 5th Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan Awards (Clean Air Survey Awards) were conferred by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on September 7, 2026.
About Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan
- Purpose: It is a competitive assessment tool launched under NCAP that ranks cities based on real actions taken to curb air pollution rather than relying solely on raw air quality readings.
- Assessment Framework: Cities are evaluated on structural actions including road dust control, solid waste management (SWM), vehicular emissions mitigation, industrial pollution checks, construction & demolition (C&D) waste tracking, and public awareness (IEC) initiatives.
- Evaluation Structure: The ranking involves self-assessment by cities, vetting by a state-level committee, evaluation by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), and independent field verification before selecting the final 10 top-performing cities.
Key Performance Highlights of the Survey
- PM10 Reductions: Out of 130 tracked NCAP cities, 108 cities successfully showed tangible improvements in PM10 pollution levels compared to the FY 2017–18 base year.
- High Performers: A total of 72 cities achieved a reduction in PM10 concentration of over 20%, while 26 cities recorded drastic cuts exceeding 40%.
- Standards Met: Exactly 14 cities completely met the stringent National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
- Funding Allocation: The central government has dispersed a performance-linked grant worth ₹16,425 crore to these 130 NCAP cities to close funding gaps for air pollution mitigation.
Key Winners
- Category 1 (Population > 10 Lakh): Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) won the coveted top position for its comprehensive city-level mitigation actions, followed closely in the top tier by cities like Indore and Jabalpur.
- Ward-Level Recognition: For the first time, specific administrative wards (such as BMC Ward 30 and 36 in Bhubaneswar) were recognized for grassroots, hyper-local air management efforts.
- Digital Monitoring: The progress of these cities is actively logged and tracked live via the center's specialized digital ecosystem, the PRANA Portal (Portal for Regulation of Air pollution in non-attainment cities).
