Chandigarh/Mohali/Panchkula, July 18 -- Chandigarh emerged the second cleanest city among 'big cities' with a population of 3-10 lakh in the 2024-25 Swachh Survekshan rankings while neighbours Mohali and Panchkula, which competed in the 50,000- 3 lakh population category, slipped in their rankings, finishing 128th and 139th among 903 cities. For City Beautiful, it was a major boost as it had been ranked 11th in the 'over one lakh population' category. The Union ministry had placed the cities in five different categories, as per the population in the 2011 census. Under the new category -- Super Swachh League -- Noida emerged the cleanest city, followed by Chandigarh and Mysore in the three to 10 lakh population category. President Droupadi Murmu presented the award to UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria and Chandigarh mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla at a ceremony in the national capital after the Union housing and urban affairs ministry announced the rankings. Secretary local government Mandeep Singh Brar, and municipal commissioner Amit Kumar were also present during the event. The administrator congratulated all stakeholders-officers, field staff, and citizens-for their contributions. "This national recognition reflects the collective spirit and resolve of Chandigarh towards Swachhata. Let us continue this journey with the same enthusiasm and strive to make Chandigarh the cleanest city in the nation." Mayor Babla thanked all councillors, former mayors, officers and officials of the MC, specifically sanitation workers and all citizens for their cooperation. Municipal commissioner Amit Kumar said collective efforts, vision, and dedication of the past leadership laid a strong foundation for sustained cleanliness and innovation in urban sanitation. Mohali was placed in the 128th position among 903 cities with a population of 50,000-3 lakh. This is a steep fall from its 82nd position last year and its worst performance in three years. A major contributor to this decline is Mohali's persistent failure to manage solid waste effectively - a problem that has remained unresolved for several years. Indiscriminate garbage dumping, poor source segregation of waste, and inefficiencies in door-to-door collection also spoilt it for the city. Mohali also dropped to the 11th position among 35 cities in Punjab this year. In stark contrast, it was ranked the cleanest city in the state last year, securing the first spot among 16 cities with a population of over one lakh. A political blame game has erupted between city mayor Amarjit Singh Sidhu and local AAP MLA Kulwant Singh after the results were announced. Blaming the state government, mayor Sidhu said, "The government is not releasing funds from Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) or clearing vital agendas on time." In response, MLA Kulwant Singh demanded Sidhu's resignation for "completely failing to perform his duties." He added, "It has been over a year since the MC elections, and the mayor has yet to resolve the garbage processing plant issue." Panchkula, too, fared poorly, slipping to the 219th position, from its previous rank of 139, in the 50,000 to 3 lakh population category. These results were based on a combination of citizen feedback and field assessments. Mayor Kulbhushan Goyal said that one of the major reasons why the city's ranking slipped is that they do not have a solid waste management plant. He added, "Illegal shanties should be removed, as people residing there throw garbage on roads, making the city dirty." Meanwhile, Kalka improved significantly jumping to 311th position in the small cities category from 1,106 in 2023....