Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation pushes for better 'Ease of Living' rank

HYDERABAD: Going by the appeals to citizens to participate in EOL Survey-2022 being conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) seems to be determined to improve its ranking in the Ease of Living (EOL). 

Not only Hyderabad Mayor Gadwal Vijaylakshmi and GHMC Commissioner Lokesh Kumar, but other officials have also taken to social media requesting citizens to participate in the EOL Survey and ensure the city improves its ranking. 

Last year, Hyderabad was ranked 24 among a total of 49 cities with over a million population, whereas its competitor Bengaluru was in first place in the EOL Index followed by Pune, Ahmedabad and Chennai.

This prompted the Mayor to express her displeasure by wondering how the city could slip from the fourth spot to the 24th. She said the city had been registering fast-track progress compared to other metros on the infrastructure and development fronts. Vijaylakshmi also raised objections on methodologies adopted and the process involved in collecting information. She described the methodology as unscientific and the rankings unrealistic.

The EoLI is an assessment by the Ministry based on the quality of life, economic ability of a city and its sustainability and resilience and municipal performance index (MPI) to assess the performance of various cities. The assessment also incorporates residents’ view on the services provided by administration through a Citizen Perception Survey.

‘’It’s time to make our Hyderabad City proud, please participate in Ease of Living Survey 2022, by MoHUA, touching base on key infra, transport and other aspects of city, every opinion matters, https://eol2022.org Use ULB/Referral Code - 800935 (sic)”, the Mayor tweeted.

Lokesh Kumar also shared the link of the website (https://eol2022.org/CitizenFeedback) and urged people to participate in the survey to ensure Hyderabad emerges on top of the list.