PATNA: The state capital has improved its ‘liveability’ ranking among cities with a population of above 10 lakh bagging the 33rd spot in the Ease of living index 2020 released by the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs on Thursday.
In the 2019 index, Patna had scored a dismal 109 out of 111 cities surveyed on livability parameters.
READ: Bengaluru tops list of cities in ease of living
Patna scored 53.26 out of 100 in overall ease of living, 47.02 in terms of quality of life, 49.32 in sustainability, 24.61 in economic ability and 77.50 in citizen perception survey (CPS). The overall ranking of Patna is 33 out of 49 cities, 14 in economic ability, 22 in citizen perception, 42 in quality of life and 44 in sustainability.
Patna also ranked 16th in the Municipal Performance Index (MPI), which examined the sectoral performance of civic bodies across five verticals- services, finance, policy, technology and governance.
Bhagalpur ranked sixth in CPS, which contributes 30% to the Ease of Living Index (EoLI) assessment of each city.
The overall EoLI rank of Bhagalpur among 62 cities with less than 10 lakh population stood at 30, while Biharshariff ranked twenty-eighth and Muzaffarpur stood at 62, which was the last rank in the category.
The EoLI evaluated the quality of life and the impact of various initiatives for urban development. The assessment incorporated the residents’ view on the services provided by city administration through CPS.
The rankings were released by Hardeep Singh Puri, Union minister of state (independent charge), housing and urban affairs, in an online event on Thursday. The first-ever EoLI covering 111 Indian cities was released on August 13, 2018.
The index evaluation assessed the quality of life, economic ability, sustainability, spanning across 13 categories -education, health, housing and shelter, solid waste management, mobility, safety and security, recreation, level of economic development, environment and buildings among others, which account for 70% of the overall outcome.
The CPS, which accounted for the remaining 30% of the assessment, was conducted from January 16, 2020, till March 20, 2020. Bhubaneshwar got the highest CPS score, followed by Silvassa, Davangere, Kakinada, Bilaspurand Bhagalpur. Patna was at twenty-second rank in CPS.
Elated over the improved ranking of Patna in EoLI and MPI, Patna municipal commissioner Anand Sharma told TOI on Thursday evening that it was a proud movement for the entire citizenry of Patna and a boost for PMC.
“It is the result of a team effort of PMC and the residents of the city and we will continue to do better in future, including the ongoing Swachch Sarvekshan. PMC is doing a lot of work in terms of resources strengthening as well as mechanisation in different sectors, such as solid waste management. We are also undertaking various initiatives for increased citizen awareness and involvement,” said Sharma, with an appeal to residents to use Swachchta mobile application.