Pimpri-Chinchwad 16th on Ease of Living index; PCMC outdoes Pune on municipal performance

PUNE With a score of 57.16, the industrial townships of Pimpri-Chinchwad has been ranked 16th on the Easy of Living Index, 2020.

The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) one of the biggest corporations in the state, scored a lower rank in citizen perception on the (65), the biggest reason for PCMC falling to 16 overall.

“In the citizen perception index, we have scored very low marks. The projects on various basic amenities and other facilities will get completed this year which will boost our ranking next year,” said Rajesh Patil, PCMC municipal commissioner.

Pimpri-Chinchwad mayor Usha Dhore added, “We have lacked in a few aspects of development, that is why currently we are 16th. The projects which are going on will help us to improve our rankings.”

Activists and residents of the twin cities feel the city lacks all-round development.

“I feel overall development should be looked at, so people from all categories will be happy in PCMC. Middle-class people face many hardships while living in the twin cities,” said environmentalist Prashant Raul.

“PCMC still needs to work and focus on improvement of basic infrastructure. We are getting big towers, but road completion work is going on at a snail’s pace,” said Rakesh Surve, an IT professional from Theragon.

PCMC outdoes Pune on MPI

On the municipal performance index (MPI), part of the Ease of Living index, Pimpri-Chinchwad is placed fourth place with a score of 59.00, ahead of Pune at 58.79.

“It is a good sign and in the coming year our target will be to achieve top rankings,” said Rajesh Patil, PCMC municipal commissioner.

The municipal performance index is an effort to assess and analyse the performance of Indian municipalities based on their defined set of functions.

The responsibilities of a municipality span across a range of verticals that include provisions of basic public services to more complex domains like urban planning.