Industry Odisha Bureau, Sep 07: Raurkela (formerly Rourkela) has secured the top position in the 5th Swachh Vayu Sarveskshan 2026 organised by Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). Under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), the Steel city of Odisha secured the first rank in the 3 lakh to 10 lakh population category.
Similarly, Odisha’s capital Bhubaneswar secured the fourth position. Kalinga Nagar, Anugola (formerly Angul) and Talcher acquired 1st, 2nd and 3rd places respectively in the less than 3 lakh population category.
The event was organised to mark Swachh Vayu Diwas 2026, alongside International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies. MoEFCC awarded the best performing Cities and Wards under National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), ranked as part of the 5th Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan. Swachh Vayu Survekshan Framework released in 2022-23 on measures taken by cities on road dust, SWM, vehicular emissions, industrial pollution, C&D waste management, other emissions (DG sets and commercial establishments), IEC activities.
The awards were based on participation and ranking of all 130 cities in 3 groups (Population below 3 Lakh; 3-10 Lakh; & above 10 Lakh), through the process involving self-assessment by cities, approval by State-level Monitoring Committee, evaluation by CPCB, field verification by Independent Committees and selection of 10 best performing cities.
During Swachh Vayu Diwas, progress and achievements made under the NCAP, a flagship initiative launched to improve air quality across 130 cities in 24 States/UTs, were highlighted. A performance linked grant of ₹ 16,425 crore has been provided to 130 NCAP cities as critical gap funding to implement air pollution mitigation measures.
