Indore: With minister of housing and urban affairs kick-starting Ease of Living Index durvey -2019, the country’s cleanest city has begun dreaming to become number one in liveability index also.
But like other cities, Indore too has its shares of problems. Among them vehicular traffic congestion, street dog menace, water shortage in townships, higher graph of crime against women are its sore points.
While traffic congestion is one of the biggest problems Indore faces today, the city figuring in top five cities in crime against women is not only a problem but a matter of concern. Street dog menace is continuing to grow with the population of canine and civic authorities not having enough facilities to check the same.
Shortage of water in many townships and colonies is also a big problem. Indore Municipal Corporation has not ensured piped water supply to several colonies and township especially in eastern division of the city.
With these sore points, can Indore clinch No 1 slot in Ease of Living Index? When asked, pat came the reply from Mayor Malini Gaud, “Yes we can. Indore fares far better than other cities in ease of living.”
She and leader of opposition Fozia Sheikh Alim and Smart City project officers lately had appealed to residents to actively participate in the ‘Ease of Living Index 2019’ survey.
Indore Smart City Ltd CEO Sandeep Soni also believes that Indore can become No 1 city in ease of living. “In the last survey, Indore had secured 8th position. This time, we can certainly improve our position. Sky is the limit,” he said.
Currently, the ministry is taking citizens’ feedback online, which will continue till February 29.
The survey will assess Ease of Living Index (ELI) and Municipal Performance Index (MPI). Both these indices are designed to assess quality of life of citizens in 100 smart cities and 14 other cities.
ELI is based on quality of life, economic ability and sustainability. It will examine 50 indicators in 14 categories like education, health, housing and shelter, mobility, safety and security, recreation, level of economic development, economic opportunities, environment, green spaces and buildings, energy consumption and others.
MPI will look into indicators in 20 sectors that include registration and permits, infrastructure, revenue management, expenditure management, fiscal responsibility, fiscal decentralisation, digital governance, digital access, digital literacy, transparency and accountability, human resource, participation, effectiveness and others.
After the data for the survey is analysed, the ministry will give rankings to cities.
Three pillars of ELI survey-
A. Quality of Life
-- Education
-- Health
-- Housing and Shelter
-- Wash and SWM
-- Mobility
-- Safety and Security
-- Recreation
NOTE: Though the student-teacher ratio in many institutions of higher learning is skewed, Indore is still educational hub of MP. It is also leading in medical facilities in MP. While it is known for dealing with solid waste management (SWM) in the country with having a distinction of cleanest city for three times in row, traffic mobility is a problem.
B. Economic Ability
---Level of Economics
---Development
---Economic Opportunities
---Gini Coefficient
NOTE: In this sector, if Indore is not leading it is not far behind also from its competitors in same population bracket.
C. Sustainability
---Environment
---Green Spaces and
---Buildings
---Energy Consumption
---City Resilience
NOTE: Indore brought pollution level down but lesser green cover is a concern. The demand of energy grew but that was associated with the development.
-Weightages of Ease of Living Index
Citizen Perception -- 30%
Quality of Life --- 35%
Economic Ability -- 15%
Sustainability -- 20%
