Making cities liveable
Making cities liveable
A city growing vertically and horizontally is not necessarily the most liveable place if it lacks the basic amenities and delivery of services for its residents
| 5 March 2021 4:30 AM GMT
A city growing vertically and horizontally is not necessarily the most liveable place if it lacks the basic amenities and delivery of services for its residents. The 'Ease of Living Index (EoLI)-2020' and the 'Municipal Performance Index (MPI)-2020' released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs have revealed the bitter truth about Guwahati city. It will soon become unliveable if timely and urgent steps are not taken to improve the situation. The capital city is ranked 46th among 49 cities in the category of million plus population. Bengaluru has topped the rankings in the category which makes it to be recognised as the most liveable city. Guwahati figures at the bottom of MPI-2020 for 51 with a score of only 18.40 among 51 million plus cities having municipal corporations. Indore is ranked first with total score of 66.08 among these cities. The Ministry has described the EoLI to be an assessment tool that evaluates the quality of life and the impact of various initiatives for urban development. It provides a comprehensive understanding of participating cities across India based on quality of life, economicability of a city, and its sustainability and resilience. The assessment also incorporates the residents' view on the services provided by city administration through a 'Citizen Perception Survey'. The MPI was launched as an accompaniment to the EoLI. It seeks to examine local government practice in municipalities across areas of services, finance, policy, technology, and governance. It seeks to simplify and evaluate the complexities in local governance practice and promote the ethos of transparency and accountability, states the official release issued by the Press Information Bureau. The 'Citizen Perception Survey' holds 30 per cent weightage in the EoLI while 13 different categories including education, health, housing and shelter, water sanitation and hygiene, solid waste management, recreation, economic development, economic opportunities, green spaces, buildings, energy consumption and city resilience covered under the pillars of 'Quality of Life', 'Economic Ability', Sustainability account for rest 70 per cent weightage. Both EoLI and MPI rankings of this gateway to Northeast is reflective of misplaced priorities of the Guwahati Development Department, Guwahati Municipal Corporation and Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority.