The ranking of urban bodies was released in New Delhi on Thursday after a study of the Ease of Living and Municipal Performance Index of 111 cities of the country under the Smart City Scheme by the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, Government of India. Indore ranked first while Bhopal ranked third in Municipal Performance Index, among cities with more than 10 lakh population. Indore ranked 9th in the country in the Ease of Living Index.
Congratulating Indore for its success at the ranking release programme, Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Urban Development and Housing, Government of India said that this achievement is accredited to the state Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan thinking and hard working style. He said that this is also the result of the consecutive first ranking of Indore in the Cleanliness Survey. Puri said that the Chief Minister of the state, departmental ministers, mayor and municipal commissioner have an important role to play in the development of the city and Madhya Pradesh has set a good example.
Expressing happiness over the achievement, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has congratulated the citizens, public representatives and officials of the cities of Indore and Bhopal. He has said that the main goal of our government is to improve the standard of living of every citizen and provide them a proper development oriented environment.
Urban Development and Housing Minister Bhupendra Singh has also extended congratulations and best wishes for the achievement. He said that every possible effort will be made to provide quality services to all urban bodies. Indore MP Shankar Lalwani termed this achievement as the result of the efforts of citizens, public representatives, officers and employees.
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, Durgashankar Mishra, lauded Indore city and said that other cities should learn from it. He complimented the municipal corporation for transforming a dirty drain into a cricket playground and a venue for wedding anniversaries.
It may be noted that a survey was conducted by the Government of India in the year 2020, aimed at improving the livelihood amenities and urban body performance indices of cities. About 32 lakh citizens of 111 cities actively participated in it. Through this survey, feedback was obtained on the standard of living, economic affordability and sustainability. The quality of services, financial status, planning, use of technology and quality of administration are included to test the performance of the bodies.
