Hyderabad: Greater Hyderabad has been ranked the sixth cleanest city across the country, and gets seven-star rating under the Swachh Survekshan rankings.

The rankings are conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) under the Swachh Bharat Urban Mission (SBM), which is the world’s largest urban sanitation and cleanliness survey. In 2023-24, the city secured the ninth position, while in 2022-23, it stood in the tenth spot.

Hyderabad City has also received a seven-star rating in the Swachh Survekshan Survey for its garbage-free city status, making it the first and only city in Telangana to achieve this distinction. Hyderabad has also been re-certified as a ‘Water Plus’ city for the fourth consecutive year.

Hyderabad was ranked sixth among the Million Plus Cities, those with a population of over 10 lakhs. In seven out of eight categories, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) received 100 per cent marks. The categories - door-to-door collection of waste, waste generation & processing, cleanliness of residential areas, cleanliness of market areas, cleanliness of water bodies, and cleanliness of public toilets. It scored 93 per cent only in category source segregation.

Moreover, the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) ranked first among all Cantonment Boards in the country and secured the 11th position in the national rankings in the medium cities’ category with populations between 50,000 and 3 lakhs.

Accordingly, GHMC received the ‘State Level Award’ as the most promising clean city of Telangana State, presented by Manohar Lal, during the ‘Swachh Survekshan 2024 Awards Ceremony’ at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The event was presided over by President Droupadi Murmu, and Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Manohar Lal, who presented the awards to the cleanest cities across India.

The GHMC Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi extended her sincere congratulations to the GHMC Commissioner, relevant officers, staff, and sanitation workers who were instrumental in securing the award.

“This Swachh Survekshan Award has heightened our sense of responsibility. Motivated by this recognition, we will strive even harder to position Greater Hyderabad as a frontrunner in cleanliness, greenery, and health across the nation,” the Mayor said.

She emphasized that this special recognition and award have been achieved thanks to the ongoing cleanliness initiatives by GHMC, the commitment of sanitation workers, and the support from the community.