Nagpur city staged a smart recovery in Ease of Living Index 2020 among 111 cities of the country as is now ranked 25th. Earlier, Nagpur was placed at 31st place, so it's a jump of six places. The ranking were released by Urban Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs at New Delhi on Thursday. Municipal Performance Index (MPI) ranking was also released for the first time today. Both Nagpur Municipal Corporation and Nagpur Smart and Sustainable City Development Corporation Limited (NSSCDCL) have made significant strides in this index. Previous ranking was released in year 2019, means within a year development initiative in city has boosted its score. The Municipal Corporation Performance Index was taken for the first time and Nagpur is ranked 30th.

 

The city ranks 17th in the survey of amenities provided by the citizens of Nagpur based on response of the citizens. Also, Nagpur has become the 9th largest city in terms of technology and city is the 8th largest city in Maharashtra. Mayor Dayashankar Tiwari has expressed happiness over improvement in ranking for Nagpur city. Tiwari congratulated Smart City team and said, more needs to be done to take inspiration and all must work for further improvement in ranking. Due to geographic location, Nagpur is the heart of the country. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis have made significant contributions to step up development through various works to improve lives of citizens. For the last 15 years, facilities are being provided to the people of Nagpur through the NMC and hopefully will do its best to come first in the survey next year. Municipal Commissioner Radhakrishnan B said, it is a great achievement to evaluate the work of NMC by the citizens and get ranked at 17th place. “Nagpur is one of the largest cities in Maharashtra and we strive to provide all kinds of amenities to the citizens,” he added. Bhuvaneshwari S, Chief Executive Officer, Smart City, said, Nagpur has improved its ranking. In the year 2019, the city was ranked 31st in the Living Index, now it is ranked 25th.

 

Also, for the first time, the Corporation is ranked 30th in the performance index. The citizens of Nagpur have ranked 17th in the services provided through Municipal Corporation and Smart City. Smart City will take cue from citizens response and strive for further improvement, she added. Earlier, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri held a press conference to release the ranking of Ease of Living Index and Municipal Corporation ranking. The survey was done during the time of lockdown last year for cities with million plus population base. Ease of living index is an assessment tool that evaluates the quality of life and the impact of various initiatives for urban development. The Municipal Performance Index (MPI) was launched as an accompaniment to the Ease of Living Index.. Ease of Living was assessed on basis of quality of life prevailing in city, economic ability, sustainability (it takes into account environment) and lastly survey of people residing in city.

 

Further, the survey also took into account quality of life, basic education, health care facility, safety and security, recreational avenues affordable housing, access to clean water etc. In the on-line programme, Bhuvaneshwari S, Mahesh Morone, Deputy Chief Executive Officer; Bhanupriya Thakur, Company Secretary; Neha Jha, Chief Financial Officer (CFO); Dr Pranita Umredkar, General Manager, Environment Department; Lina Budhe, Center for Sustainable Development; and Kaustav Chatterjee, Green Vigil Foundation were present. The standard of living was graded on the basis of quality of life, financial viability, continuity of service. Citizens’ feedback was an important part of the ranking as whether they were satisfied with the service reflected in the rankings. Also, the performance, services, planning, technology and financial management of the corporation were evaluated by the experts in the Municipal Performance Index.