Tiruchi has secured the first position among cities in Tamil Nadu in the Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2026, a national-level assessment of efforts to improve air quality. The city, however, slipped to the 12th position nationally among cities with a population of over 10 lakh, compared with ninth place in the previous year.The Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan is conducted under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), an initiative of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, to assess and encourage sustained efforts to improve air quality in cities across the country.This year’s assessment covered 130 cities, including 48 cities with a population of more than 10 lakh. Tiruchi secured an overall score of 183 out of 200, placing it 12th. In the 2025 survey, the city had scored 186 points and secured ninth rank.The assessment was based on self-assessment reports submitted by the cities to the Central Pollution Control Board. Various parameters were considered, including biomass and municipal solid waste burning, road dust, dust generated from construction and demolition activities, vehicular emissions, industrial emissions, public awareness initiatives and improvement in PM10 concentrations.Tiruchi has made notable progress in reducing pollution. The city’s PM10 concentration has declined from 88 in 2017-18 to 53 in 2025-26, reflecting improvement in air quality over the years.Adding to the city’s achievements, Ward 22 (Thillai Nagar) of the Tiruchi City Corporation secured the state-level Best Ward award in the category of cities with a population between 10,000 and 30,000.A senior Corporation official said several measures had been taken to improve the city’s green cover, including tree plantation along roads and medians. However, the official stressed that further improvements would require greater attention to preventing open dumping and burning, regular road sweeping, and the use of water sprinklers to control road dust. Published - September 09, 2026 07:17 pm IST