Under IAS Indrajeet Singh, Lucknow’s sanitation and cleanliness underwent a dramatic turnaround. When he took charge as Municipal Commissioner in 2022, the city was riddled with open waste dumps and lagged far behind in national cleanliness rankings. Singh initiated sweeping reforms transforming dumping grounds like Ghaila into lush parks with over 100,000 trees, converting waste into fuel at sites like Shivri, deploying 1,200 electric vehicles for garbage collection, installing strong grievance redressal systems, and enforcing source segregation of waste.

These efforts pushed Lucknow up to 3rd place among million-plus population cities in the Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 survey, earning it a 7-star waste-free city rating its highest ever. Equally important was the city’s outreach: involving citizens through awareness campaigns like “Clean Street, Green Street,” monitoring via CCTV and control rooms, and improving sanitary workers’ conditions with equipment and health checks.

Lucknow’s transformation shows that leadership, clear mission, technology, and public cooperation can shift urban narratives not just cosmetics, but real institutional change. The city still faces challenges (old wards, unequal services), but this turnaround offers a model for clean-city governance in India.