Kerala’s Clean Sweep

U .V JOSE IAS (Retd.)

Eight Kerala urban local bodies broke into the top 100 rankings of Swachh Survekshan 2024–25. In total, 82 Urban Local Bodies secured places within the top 1,000 marks Kerala’s best-ever performance. A year ago, not a single municipality from the state had made it to the top 1,000.

Not long ago, Kerala’s urban sanitation rankings were barely a blip on the national radar. But in a stunning turnaround that has surprised even seasoned observers, the State has leapt into the limelight with an unprecedented performance in the Swachh Survekshan 2024 — India’s largest cleanliness survey. For the first time ever, eight urban local bodies from Kerala have landed among the top 100 cleanest cities in the country, marking a watershed moment in the state’s urban hygiene journey.

There is more to celebrate considering the fact that there were no urban local bodies in the top 1,000 last year, as many as 82 ULB’s, out of the total 93, secured places within the top 1000 this year. The top performers include Kochi Corporation (Rank 50), Mattannur (Rank 53), Thrissur Corporation (Rank 58), Kozhikode Corporation (Rank 70), Alappuzha Municipality (Rank 80), Guruvayur Municipality (Rank 82), Thiruvananthapuram Corporation (Rank 89) and Kollam (Rank 93). The Mattannur Municipality received a special national award for its remarkable transformation,Minister MB Rajesh receiving the award from Union Minister Manohar Lalduring Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 Awards ceremony.