KCR’s Hyderabad better managed than Modi’s Ahmedabad

KCR’s Hyderabad better managed than Modi’s Ahmedabad
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Highlights

Hyderabad scores above Ahmedabad in the \'Annual Survey of India\'s City Systems\' (ASICS), a study that reveals systematic inadequacies in urban governance. Ahmedabad, the capital city of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Gujarat is at fourth slot in the chart from below while Hyderabad, the capital city of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s Telangana has fared better with 10 slots ahead of

Bangalore: Hyderabad scores above Ahmedabad in the 'Annual Survey of India's City Systems' (ASICS), a study that reveals systematic inadequacies in urban governance. Ahmedabad, the capital city of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Gujarat is at fourth slot in the chart from below while Hyderabad, the capital city of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s Telangana has fared better with 10 slots ahead of Modi’s Ahemedabad.

The ASICS survey that analysed 21 cities from 18 states, was conducted by Janaagraha and supported by Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) Foundation. The survey reveals that Indian cities continue to score in the range of 2 to 4.2 out of 10, as against the global benchmarks of London and New York, which have scored 9.4 and 9.7, respectively.

These scores imply that Indian cities are grossly under-prepared to deliver a high quality of life that is sustainable in the long term. Hyderabad’s ASICS score is 3.6, whereas Ahmedabad’s is only 3.0. Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram led the chart with a score of 4.2, followed by Kolkata with 4.1, Delhi 3.7, Chennai and Kanpur 3.6, Bengaluru 3.3 and Patna 3.4.

The Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy (JCCD) said, "This is particularly worrisome given the rapid pace of urbanisation in India coupled with the huge backlog in public service delivery." Only robust city systems can prepare Indian cities to surmount both these challenges. The scores in this survey do not, by and large, show any significant improvements over the last edition.

Meanwhile, another study conducted between 1990 and 2012 by the Centre for Ecological Sciences of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has adjudged Bengaluru as a city with the worst urban sprawl among 10 top Indian cities. The team conducted this research using remote sensing satellite data from 1990 onwards.

The country’s city systems overall scored in the range of 2 to 4.2 out of 10. Cities like London and New York, which the survey uses as global benchmarks, each score more than 9. Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala was the best in India, with an average score of 4.2, while Chandigarh, capital of the northern Indian states of Punjab and Haryana, was bottom with just 2 points.

“These scores imply Indian cities are grossly under-prepared to deliver a high quality of life that is sustainable in the long term,” the report said. The figures are of particular concern due to India’s growing urban population, which increased from 28% of the total in 2001 to 31% in 2011, according to Census figures. The total urban population was 377 million in 2011.

The scores didn’t show much improvement from the survey in 2014, the report said. However, Mumbai and Pune in Maharashtra state improved on the transparency and accountability measure because the state introduced a law to assure public services are delivered in a timely manner at nominal charges.

The study found interesting differences in governance–in Ahmedabad and Bangalore, mayors sit for only one year, “significantly weakening leadership,” the report said. While in Chennai in Tamil Nadu, mayors sit for five years. Meanwhile, a local councillor in Mumbai in Maharashtra represents seven times more citizens than his colleague in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram.

Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram led the chart with a score of 4.2, followed by Kolkata with 4.1, Delhi 3.7, Chennai and Kanpur 3.6, Bengaluru 3.3 and Patna 3.4. The Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy (JCCD) said, "This is particularly worrisome given the rapid pace of urbanisation in India coupled with the huge backlog in public service delivery."

Only robust city systems can prepare Indian cities to surmount both these challenges. The scores in this survey do not, by and large, show any significant improvements over the last edition. Meanwhile, another study conducted between 1990 and 2012 by the Centre for Ecological Sciences of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has adjudged Bengaluru as a city with the worst urban sprawl among 10 top Indian cities. The team conducted this research using remote sensing satellite data from 1990 onwards.

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