BHUBANESWAR: Bhubaneswar has been ranked 18th most livable city in the country by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry on its Ease of Living index released on Monday. But it stood at rank one in the category of public open spaces. The Capital bagged 11th position in Education, 25th in governance, 19th in identity and culture, 17th in safety and security, 18th in economy and employment, 10th in transportation and mobility, 33rd in solid waste management and 40th in power supply.
Housing, health, land use, power supply, waste-water management and reduced pollution are some of the fields where its rank is poor. It has been ranked 86th in Housing and Inclusiveness category and 59th in Health category.However, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials said if the list of cities having a population of five lakh to one million is compared, Bhubaneswar, which has a population of 8.85 lakh, stands at number four among the best livable cities after Chandigarh, Truchirapalli and Amravati on the index.
As per the index, Rourkela stood at 87th position while no other city from the State made it to the list. Pune emerged topper while Navi Mumbai secured second position and Greater Mumbai third position. Thane is the fourth Maharashtra city that made it to the top 10. The national capital New Delhi has been ranked lowly at 65 even as Chennai stood at 14. The Ease of Living Index was released by Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday. The survey, based on governance, social institutions, economic and physical infrastructure parameters, was conducted in 111 cities across the country.