Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj released the ‘Swachh Survekshan’ for rural India, revealing Mandi (Himachal Pradesh) and Sindhudurg (Maharashtra) as the cleanest districts in India.
Mandi was judged as the cleanest district in “Hills” category and Sindhudurg as the cleanest in the “Plains” category, with districts of Sikkim, Shimla (Himachal Pradesh), Nadia (West Bengal) and Satara (Maharashtra) featuring at the top of the index.
| Overall Ranking – Swachh Survekshan Gramin | ||||
| Category | Rank | District | State | Cleanliness Score |
| Hills | 1 | Mandi | Himachal Pradesh | 98.4 |
| Hills | 2 | West Sikkim | Sikkim | 96.4 |
| Hills | 3 | Shimla | Himachal Pradesh | 94.1 |
| Plains | 1 | Sindhudurg | Maharashtra | 96.8 |
| Plains | 2 | Nadia | West Bengal | 95.0 |
| Plains | 3 | Satara | Maharashtra | 92.9 |
The Ministry had commissioned Quality Council of India (QCI) to carry out the assessment. Each district has been judged on four distinct parameters. Maximum weightage was places on accessibility to safe toilets and water. The parameters to judge sanitation status include:
-Households having access to safe toilets and using them (toilet usage, water accessibility, safe disposal of waste) (40%)
-Households having no litter around (30%)
-Public places with no litter in the surrounding (10%)
-Households having no stagnant wastewater around (20%)