Bengaluru finds itself at an appalling 58th place among 111 cities ranked in the Union government’s Ease of Living Index, even as Mangaluru and Belagavi were placed higher at 41st and 52nd ranks, respectively.
Social media users said the report holds a mirror to the fact that money is not everything as “cities were analysed based on their infrastructure, social environment and governance” rather than their economy.
Bangalore Central parliamentarian P C Mohan said the poor rank was the result of poor governance over the last five years. “Bengaluru accounts for over 70% of Karnataka’s revenue but its civic infrastructure, housing and transport sectors have been totally ignored. It has become the hub of corruption with politicians awarding contracts only to make money. We can’t expect better,” he said.
Despite repeated attempts, DH could not reach Bengaluru Development Minister G Parameshwara or K J George, who held the portfolio previously, for comment.
Many on social media saw the rankings as biased. “It’s true that Bengaluru doesn’t deserve the top rank. But seeing that cities with communal flare-ups and poorer environments have got higher ranks, it seems the survey has taken a skewed look at the scenario,” Sujit Gowda wrote on Facebook, citing the example of Mangaluru which scored 1.03 points more than Bengaluru under the ‘culture and identity’ category.
Mohan rejected the suggestion. “When they said Bengaluru is the dynamic city, they didn’t question it. An objective analysis shows that the state has failed to respond positively to the Centre’s Smart Cities Mission or the proposed suburban rail project for which a special purpose vehicle hasn’t been formed yet,” he said.
