Nagpur, November 15, 2026: Besa-Pipla Nagar Panchayat has earned recognition for its cleanliness initiatives, securing the second position in Maharashtra and 13th rank nationally under the Swachh Shehar Jodi category of Swachh Survekshan 2025-26.
The rankings were announced by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) on November 11 under the Swachh Shehar Jodi initiative, a peer-learning programme launched as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0.
Besa-Pipla secured the national ranking jointly with Panchgani. Meanwhile, Navi Mumbai and Kannad secured 12th position nationally, emerging as the top-performing pair from Maharashtra.
Nagpur district also found another mention in the rankings, with Kandri-Kanhan Nagar Panchayat securing 46th position nationally alongside Lonavala. Maharashtra accounted for 10 of the 70 best-performing city pairs in the country.
Indore Model Helped Improve Cleanliness
Speaking about the achievement, Besa-Pipla Nagar Panchayat Chief Officer Bharat Nandanwar said the recognition was particularly encouraging as the civic body participated in the programme for the first time.
He credited the experience-sharing initiative with Panchgani for helping Besa-Pipla improve across all 10 assessment categories. The civic body also adopted cleanliness practices inspired by Indore, widely recognised for its waste management model.
Fines and Public Awareness Drive
The Nagar Panchayat formed an Information, Education and Communication (IEC) team to promote civic responsibility, improve public participation and encourage sustainable waste management.
With a population of approximately 1.21 lakh and 49,128 properties, Besa-Pipla also introduced strict measures against open garbage burning.
Fines of up to Rs 25,000 were imposed for open burning, while property tax penalties were also introduced for those found burning garbage on vacant plots within the civic limits.
Door-to-door awareness campaigns by IEC teams further helped encourage residents to participate in cleanliness initiatives.
Nandanwar said the achievement had motivated the civic administration to perform even better in the next edition of the competition.
