Ahmedabad, Nov 11 — Ahmedabad and Sanand have secured the first position nationally in the ‘Clean City Pair’ category of the Swachh Survekshan Awards 2025-26, with Ahmedabad recognised as the mentor city and Sanand as the mentee city for their joint efforts to improve urban cleanliness.
Ahmedabad Mayor Hitesh Barot received the award from the President Droupadi Murmu at a national award ceremony held in New Delhi on Wednesday.
State Ministers Kanu Desai and Urban Development Minister Darshana Vaghela were also present.
The ‘Mentor-Mentee City’ category was introduced this year under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban to encourage better-performing urban local bodies to share technical expertise and operational practices with other cities.
Under the initiative, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) provided technical knowledge, guidance and support to Sanand Municipality to strengthen its cleanliness-related operations.
As a mentor city, Ahmedabad also extended guidance to other urban local bodies in Gujarat, including Ranavav, Wankaner, Salaya and Mundra-Baroi, besides Sanand.
The assistance covered waste segregation, wastewater management, solid waste management and the welfare of sanitation workers.
The national ranking was based on the performance of Ahmedabad and Sanand against the prescribed parameters of the Swachh Survekshan.
Their joint efforts and initiatives in the cleanliness sector earned them the top position in the Clean City Pair category.
The award ceremony was attended by Ahmedabad Deputy Mayor Anju Shah, Standing Committee Chairman Kamlesh Patel, ruling party leader Jashu Thakor, whip Atul Mishra, Deputy Municipal Commissioner of the Solid Waste Management Department, Amritesh Aurangabadkar, department director Dr Vijay Mistry and committee chairman Deepak Panchal, among other elected representatives and officials.
The recognition adds to Ahmedabad's record in national cleanliness assessments and acknowledges its role in sharing expertise with smaller urban local bodies.
The AMC said the achievement was the result of the collective efforts of its elected representatives, officials, sanitation workers and citizens.