News: Gurugram makes it to number 8 on liveability index, but scores low on economic parameters-05-03-2021
Gurugram makes it to number 8 on liveability index, but scores low on economic parameters
GURUGRAM: After a dismal performance in 2018, the Millennium City has finally made a mark for itself on the 2020 Ease of Living Index compiled by the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs. Among cities with a population of less than a million, Gurugram has been ranked eighth in the index that classifies cities basically on the basis of general living quality for residents.
Home to more than 300 of Fortune 500 companies, Gurugram was ranked 88th on the first Ease of Living Index in 2018. However, this time, the cities have been classified into two categories — those with a population of over a million and those with less than a million. Ironically, as per the 2011 Census, the Millennium City’s population is 15.1 lakh.
On the index, released by the ministry on Thursday, cities have been ranked on the basis of broadly four parameters — quality of life, economic ability, sustainability and citizen’s perception survey. The maximum weightage has been given to quality of life at 35%, followed by 30% to citizen’s perception survey, 20% to sustainability and 15% to economic ability.
Among these four pillars, Gurugram has scored the highest in citizen’s perception by securing 70 points. However, the city has scored the lowest in economic ability, obtaining only 32.5 points. Tiruppur is the only city which has performed better than Gurugram on this parameter, scoring 39.1 points. Shimla, which topped the list of small cities in the Ease of Living Index also scored only 23.4 points in economic ability.
By economic ability, the index implies the level of economic development and economic opportunities offered by the city.
Officials said that economic ability is one parameter where Gurugram should have fared better because this city offers a lot of economic opportunities, which are generally not available in small cities with less than a million population.
The city has scored 57.3 points in sustainability. The parameter of sustainability takes into account environment, green space and buildings, energy consumption and city resilience. Karnal, another Haryana city, has topped the list among small cities for sustainability by scoring 70.7 points. The city has performed better than the numero uno Shimla, which is at number two in sustainability by obtaining 69.16 points.
In terms of quality of life, Gurugram scored 53.3 points. The index takes into account education, health, housing and shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), solid waste management, mobility; safety, security and recreation.
“We still have a long way to go. We specifically need to work on the sustainability issues and improve quality of life for citizens by making all facilities available to them at their doorsteps. We will strive hard to improve our position further,” Gurugram deputy commissioner Yash Garg told TOI.
15th rank in Municipal Performance Index
Meanwhile, Gurugram has been placed at number 15 on the Municipal Performance Index (MPI) among small cities with less than 10 lakh population. Karnal, which has been placed in the same category of population, has fared better than Gurugram by grabbing the fourth rank.
Among small municipalities with less than a million population, Delhi has topped the list by scoring 52.9 points.
The parameters used to calculate MPI include services, finance, technology, planning and governance.
The performance of Gurugram, which scored 45.8 points, is the worst in the technology parameter. The city also has not scored well in the services and governance parameters.
“Gurugram has ranked 15 in the category of below one million population and New Delhi Municipal Council has topped this category. Our neighbouring city Faridabad has ranked 40 in the over one million population category,” the MCG commissioner said.
“But if we compare Gurugram’s score with our neighbouring cities — though they are in the million-plus category, yet parameters are the same — it has performed better than east and north Delhi municipal corporations and also Faridabad. Anyway, once we do a detailed analysis, we will strategise to impro-ve the areas where our performance index was lower,” he added.
