Maharashtra occupies the number one position, thereby indicating presence of better urban areas in the country, followed by Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, says a FICCI-E&Y report. Districts of Mumbai, Thane and are the most prominent centers.
In order to determine urban prosperity of Indian states, 6 indices to influence urban development and liveability were identified. Based on that,Maharashtra scores the highest on housing, liveability, demography and infrastructure.
While Maharashtra scores low on affordability and prosperity of the citizen, states like Goa, Chandigarh and Delhi fare the best there. These factors come under the consumption propensity index.
A state’s progress and liveability cannot be mapped only by its economic progress. The living conditions of the people and their access to basic services such as lighting, treated drinking water, bathing and toilet within the household along with sense of safety, plays an important role in judging the liveability of the state. Thus, the liveability index ranking have captured data sets, which will analyse the overall living condition profile of the state with respect to physical infrastructure at the household level such as access to electricity, sanitation facility, safety, and awareness level gauged by access to internet
Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are the highest gross state domestic product (GSDP) generators for the country, where there is high rate of economic growth. They have the most matured environment for industrial development, however Bihar ranked the lowest here.
Although Maharashtra has good quality housing, it also has a high number of households without residences, indicating poor access to suitable homes. This number is particularly high in the industrialized districts such as Amravati, Nagpur, Kolhapur, Mumbai and Mumbai suburbs, Thane and Pune.
The report further emphasizes on how the cities in India need to re-think their strategies and find solutions and innovations to upgrade to match world standards. Hence there is a dire need for capacity building in our urban local bodies.
