Shimla, July 19 -- After Shimla city slipped to 347th place nationally, out of 824 cities in the Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 rankings, Shimla mayor Surinder Chauhan raised strong objections over the rankings and called for proper and transparent inquiry into the entire evaluation system.

Shimla, which was ranked as the cleanest city in Himachal Pradesh since 2015, has now fallen to third place in the state, along with falling to 347 rank in recent rankings from 188 in 2023. Last year, Shimla secured 188 rank nationwide, but this year, it failed to make it to the list of top 300 cleanest cities this year. Shimla was ranked 198th in 2019, 65th in 2020, 76th in 2021 and 56th in 2022.

Speaking to media, Chauhan expressed dismay that Shimla, d...