VIJAYAWADA: AFTER securing first place in Ease of Living Index-2018, Andhra Pradesh is gearing up for the next edition of the survey by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). Four cities—Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Kakinada and Tirupati—will be assessed on the basis of performance in 15 categories.
The municipal corporations concerned are expected to submit all necessary data to the MoHUA before February 29. In the last edition, Tirupati and Vijayawada made it to the top ten cities list, by securing fourth and ninth ranks, respectively. Residents who have been living in these cities for at least six months can rate their city by visiting http:// eol2019.org/CitizenFeedback and responding to a questionnaire on transportation, power supply, safety and security, water supply, education, governance, health, identity and culture, solid waste management, public open spaces, housing and inclusiveness, pollution, economy and empowerment, waste water management, and mix land use and compactness.
As many as 113 cities will be assessed under three major categories: quality of life, economic ability and sustainability. As on Wednesday, Andhra Pradesh stood ninth in terms of citizen feedback; 6.28% of the public of the four cities have responded to the questionnaire. Urban local body-wise, Tirupati (811) was placed first, followed by Visakhapatnam (780), Kakinada (644) and Vijayawada (58).
Speaking to TNIE on Wednesday, Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) additional commissioner (projects) U Sarada Devi said the civic body has commenced the procedure of gathering data from major departments such as census, town planning, pollution control board, traffic and police, health, education, power, civil supplies, estates, engineering, housing and APSRTC. Around 30 per cent of the weightage has been given to citizen perception, for the survey. As such, the Corporation has decided to reach out to the public by sensitising them about the survey through social media platforms, seminars and rallies, Sarada Devi added.
