Chandigarh, Sept. 10 -- Trailing at the 31st spot last year, the City Beautiful has made a remarkable comeback, rising to the eighth position among 48 cities with population over 10 lakh in the 2025 edition of Swachh Vayu Survekshan, whose results were released on Tuesday. The UT administration attributed the city's improvement to sustainable urban development initiatives, proactive air quality management strategies and active citizen participation. "The collective efforts of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, traffic police, transport department, state transport department, and the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC) have contributed significantly to this achievement," said the UT administration in an official press release. The release described various measures behind the cleaner air, including expansion of green cover through urban forestry and plantation drives, strict enforcement of dust-control measures at construction sites, introduction of e-mobility in public transport and expansion of EV charging infrastructure, scientific remediation of legacy waste and expansion of non-motorised transport network. UT also ensured automatic road sweeping and water sprinkling to control road dust and community-led awareness campaigns, promoting behavioural change and citizen involvement. This year, Chandigarh scored 186.6 marks, up from 156 marks last year, contributing to its rise from 31st place to 8th place. Indore led with 200 marks, Jabalpur came second with 199 marks and Agra Surat were ranked third with 196. UT environment director-cum-member secretary, CPCC, Saurabh Kumar said, "This achievement reflects Chandigarh's strong commitment to ensuring clean air for its residents. Collective efforts, from policymakers to citizens, have made this possible, and we will continue to work towards a healthier and greener city." The Swachh Vayu Survekshan is conducted annually by the ministry of environment, forest and climate change under the National Clean Air Programme. It assesses cities on their sustained efforts and progress towards improving air quality. The Swachh Vayu Survekshan evaluates cities across eight major parameters: management of municipal solid waste, road dust mitigation, management of dust from construction & demolition waste, regulated vehicular emissions, strict enforcement on industrial emissions and other emissions, public awareness and particulate matter improvement trend....