Bengaluru has been adjudged the most liveable large city in the country, as per the Ease of Living Index (EoLI) – 2020, released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on Thursday.
This is a big leap from the 58th position in the previous edition of the index in 2018. Civic officials and experts said the two rankings were not exactly comparable as the evaluation criteria for the EoLI had changed.
“The Bengaluru model of development of citizen-centric initiatives and delivery of services has ensured the top ranking,” Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, who also holds charge of the city, tweeted.
However, the top ranking in EoLI is sobered up by a low ranking of 31 among 49 cities with a population of over one million in the Municipal Performance Index (MPI), scoring below average in the same population category.
Meanwhile, in EoLI, Hubballi-Dharwad was ranked 37th among 49 cities with over one million population, while Davangere was ranked ninth, Mangaluru 20th, Tumakuru 23rd, Sagar 25th, Shivamogga 26th, and Belagavi 47th among 62 cities with less than one million population.
Mysuru, which is conventionally known to have a high quality of life, was not part of the 111 cities reviewed and ranked for the index. While sources in the Urban Development Department said Mysuru was not included as it was not selected as a Smart City, a few cities that are not part of the Smart City Mission had also been considered for the index.
