City aces ‘Transportation’ in Ease of Living Index, evokes mixed response

14 August, 2018

Thane : The announcement of Thane ranking sixth in the all-India Ease of Living Index released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on Monday has brought in considerable cheer among activists and residents of the city.

The lake city has scored an ace in the category of transportation, which includes availability of wide roads, uninterrupted electricity among others where the foray of offbeat generation initiatives were considered. The corporation has scored third on the segment of providing basic infrastructure to residents while the water supply system here has also drawn laurels and secured the administration get the fourth position, informed the Thane municipal corporation through a press statement.

The Ease of Living Index is an initiative of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to help cities assess their livability compared to global and national benchmarks and encourage urban settlements to move towards an 'outcome-based' approach to urban planning and management. The participating cities were ranked on four major factors — institutions and governance, social infrastructure (education/health), economic factors and physical infrastructure.

Municipal commissioner Sanjeev Jaiswal said it was an achievement for the city to have scored high on the national front and said attempts will be made in the future to score higher and bring the city on the international map. "We have managed to bring the city into the limelight on the national front, we will be working harder in the future to ensure a better living experience to our residents. We are happy and thankful to the support put in by our residents and municipal officials," he said.

Activists cheered that it was a moment of joy for the city as it managed to secure its place along with cities like Pune, Navi Mumbai and Greater Mumbai to be one of the most livable places in the country.

However, a section of activists have questioned the rationale behind the ranking considering the condition of public transportation and water distribution network in the city wasn't yet up to the mark.

 

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com