In civic ranking, Pune is Maximum City

In civic ranking, Pune is Maximum City

Context

The Annual Survey of India’s City-Systems (ASICS) 2017

Pune at the top, Bengaluru at the bottom

• The Annual Survey of India’s City-Systems (ASICS) 2017, which uses 150 parameters to judge 23 cities, has placed Pune at the top and Bengaluru at the bottom of the rankings.
• While Pune scored 5.1 out of a maximum score of 10, Bengaluru got just 3.

Still behind globally

But Indian cities lagged behind global cities like New York and London, which scored 8.8.

About the survey

Who conducts it: An NGO, Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy

Objective:It broadly looks at urban planning and design, capacity and resources of Urban Local Bodies, the degree of empowerment of the civic body, and processes for transparency and citizen participation.

No progress in devolution of powers

While financial management has improved in some cities, there has been little progress in devolution of powers to civic bodies

Just three out of the 23 cities enacted town planning legislations since economic liberalisation in 1991, while the rest rely on laws enacted nearly six decades ago

Fragmented governance

• Local bodies suffer from fragmented governance. On average, Indian cities score 4.9 on this parameter.
• Their municipal commissioners had an average tenure of only 10 months.
• On the other hand, London, where the mayor is elected for five years and has far-reaching powers, scores 9.8.

No access to citizens

• Not only are citizens kept out of governance, they do not even get access to important data concerning their civic life.
• India’s cities have virtually no platforms where citizens can participate in civic matters in their neighbourhoods. This impacts the quality of democracy itself