Guwahati: The Jiribam town in Manipur has received national recognition at the Swachh Survekshan 2025–26, earning the titles of ‘Promising Swachh Shehar of Manipur 2025–26’ and the state’s first ‘Swachhta City’.
The awards were presented at a ceremony held at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Tuesday, with President Droupadi Murmu attending as the chief guest. Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal and Minister of State Tokhan Sahu were also present.
Representing Manipur at the event were Jiribam Municipal Council Executive Officer Moirangthem Surjit Singh, Sanitary Inspector Sorokhaibam Linthoingambi Devi, IT and ME Department official Lonica Devi, and SBM-MIS representative Th. Shyamanansa Singh.
With this achievement, Jiribam Municipal Council has become the first urban local body in Manipur to receive national-level recognition for cleanliness for six consecutive years, from 2020 to 2025–26.
Jiribam is also the first town in the state to secure both the 3-Star Garbage-Free City (GFC) certification and Open Defecation Free Plus-Plus (ODF++) status, highlighting its progress in waste management and sanitation.
In the 2024–25 edition, the town received the ‘Most Promising Town’ recognition, securing the top position among towns with populations below 20,000 in the North Eastern Region. It also ranked 174th among 2,035 towns nationally.
Earlier, Jiribam was recognised as the cleanest small city in the North East Zone among towns with populations below 15,000 in the 2022 and 2023 editions.
Organised annually by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban, Swachh Survekshan assesses cleanliness and sanitation standards across urban areas in India. Officials attributed Jiribam’s latest achievement to the collective efforts of municipal authorities, sanitation workers and residents.