Lagging on most parameters, Amritsar among bottom 5

THE HOLY CITY’S RANK IS 45 AMONG 49 CITIES IN THE MILLION-PLUS CATEGORY

AMRITSAR: The holy city of Amritsar, which is visited by scores of tourists from across the world, lagged on most parameters in the ‘Ease of Living Index 2020’ published by the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs on Thursday and was included in country’s five worst ‘liveable’ big cities with the population of more than one million.

Ranked at 45 out of the 49 cities among the million-plus category, Amritsar’s poor performance was attributed to inadequate economic opportunities and economic development, less recreational facility, besides delayed ‘Smart City’ project and civic works.

In the ‘Quality of Life’ parameter, Amritsar managed to score 51.5 points in indicators, including education, health, safety and security, but the city scored less against the national average due to poor recreational facilities and WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) and solid waste management.

The city performed even worse in ‘Economic Ability’ parameter by scoring only 9.46 points where Ludhiana, the best liveable city across Punjab, scored 26.25 points.

Besides this, Amritsar managed to score 57.05 points in ‘Sustainability’ and 61.7 points in ‘Citizen Perception Survey’, against the national average of 76.08 points.

Not even 1% of the total population of the city participated in the annual survey and submitted their feedback, the authorities of Amritsar municipal corporation had said.

Problem areas

The level of economic development and economic opportunities remained below average in Amritsar as the city is still struggling to give economic boost to local industries and trade.

“Due to national policies, Amritsar could not even maintain trade with Pakistan through Attari border, hindering the economic development,” said Michael Raul, a city resident.

Harpreet Singh, another resident said: “There are inadequate job opportunities for the youth in the city. The state government must help setting up multinational companies and local industries to provide jobs to unemployed people.”

“Since last four years, Amritsar Smart City Limited has been claiming to start big projects to make it citizen-friendly and sustainable but nothing ‘smart’ is visible in the city yet.

Besides this, even the centre ministry’s HRIDAY project failed to provide recreational facilities to the people,” said Indu Arora, a city-based social worker.

Official take

MC commissioner Komal Mittal, who is also the chief executive officer of Amritsar Smart City Limited, says, “The city lacked in economic ability parameters and environmentrelated indicators.”

“In Punjab, less focus is being made on making the buildings ‘green’,” Mittal said.