Mizoram’s Lunglei town ‘promising’ under Swachh Survekshan Awards 2024

Guwahati, July 18: Lunglei town has bagged the 'Promising Swachh Shehar of Mizoram Award' under the Swachh Survekshan Awards, officials said on Friday.

The ceremony organised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) was held in New Delhi on Thursday, they said.

The award was received by state Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation Minister K. Sapdanga, Lunglei Municipal Council vice-chairman K. Lalrinawma and other officials.

The awards are part of the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) initiative and evaluate towns and cities across the country based on various cleanliness indicators.

This year's awards mark the 9th edition, with a total of 78 awards conferred.

Since its debut in 2016, Lunglei has won six Swachh Survekshan awards, including Best City in Innovation and Best Practices-NE Zone (2019), Best City in Citizen Feedback (NE Zone, Pop. 50k-1L) (2021), Clean City in NE Zone (Pop. 50k-1L) (2022 and 2023) and Clean City within Mizoram (Pop. below 1L) (2023), according to officials.

Notably, Guwahati and North Lakhimpur have emerged as top performers in the Swachh Survekshan Awards 2024–25, with both cities being recognised as the “Promising Swachh Sheher of Assam”.

Taking to social media, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma lauded the achievement, declaring Guwahati the cleanest capital city in the Northeast following its Open Defecation Free (ODF) Plus certification and 1-Star Garbage Free City (GFC) rating.

“A reflection of Assam’s sustained efforts in city sanitation and public hygiene. The city continues to lead with purpose and progress,” the Chief Minister wrote. He credited the people of Guwahati and the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) for the city’s steady climb in the cleanliness rankings.

Meanwhile, North Lakhimpur too made significant progress, moving up to rank 155 out of 820 in the 50,000 to 3 lakh population category.

- With inputs from PTI