The Clean-Air Report Card: How Major Metros and Smaller Towns Performed

Delhi is usually a name that comes up first when India's air pollution is discussed. But a new city-level scorecard tells a different story about its pollution-control efforts. In the 2026 Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan, Delhi ranked 21st among 48 cities with populations above 10 lakh, scoring higher than Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata.

The ranking, however, is not about which city has cleaner air. It measures how cities performed in putting pollution-control measures in place and improving air quality.

The Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan is part of the government's National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and was first conducted in 2022-23. The 2026 edition is its fifth and assesses the performance of cities during FY 2025-26. This year, 130 cities were assessed across the country.

It is not a ranking of cities by their actual pollution levels or AQI. Instead, the survey checks the steps cities are taking to control pollution. These include measures related to road dust, waste burning, construction and demolition waste, vehicles, industries and other sources of emissions. The assessment also considers improvement in PM10 levels and public awareness efforts.

The 130 cities are divided into three groups based on population. There are 48 cities with more than 10 lakh people, 42 cities with 3-10 lakh people and 40 cities with populations below 3 lakh. 

Lucknow Leads Among The Biggest Cities

Among the 48 cities with populations above 10 lakh, Lucknow scored the highest, with 198 points out of 200. Indore followed with 197 and Jabalpur with 195. Bhopal and Agra were next, both scoring 192, while Surat scored 191.

On the other end, Madurai scored 132.1, the lowest among these 48 cities. Kolkata scored 142.2, followed by Kota at 146.3 and Jamshedpur at 147.3.

Delhi scored 172 points and ranked 21st, sharing the position with Visakhapatnam. It was ahead of Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata. 

Rourkela Tops The Next Group

Among the 42 cities with populations between 3 lakh and 10 lakh, Rourkela from Odisha topped the category with 198.5 points. Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh, and Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, shared second place with 195 points.

At the lower end of the rankings, Jalandhar in Punjab recorded the lowest score at 124.5. It was followed by Kalaburagi, Karnataka, with 138.2 and Gaya in Bihar with 140.9.

Kalinga Nagar Leads Smaller Cities

Among the 40 cities with populations below 3 lakh, Kalinga Nagar, Odisha, topped the list with 198.5 points, followed by Angul, Odisha, at 196.5 and Talcher, Odisha, at 193.5. Eluru, Andhra Pradesh, scored 193, while Haldia, West Bengal, recorded 190.6.

At the bottom, Byrnihat, Meghalaya, scored 108.5, followed by Dera Bassi, Punjab, at 110.5 and Kohima, Nagaland, at 134.1.

The scores show how cities performed under the survey's clean-air framework. However, a high score does not necessarily mean a city has cleaner air. It reflects better performance on the pollution-control measures assessed by the survey.