SHILLONG, Dec 8: Meghalaya has been ranked among the bottom five states as per the Urban Governance Index (UGI) 2020 released by Praja Foundation.
The Praja Foundation, on Tuesday, released its first UGI 2020, which has ranked the states to indicate where they stand in terms of ‘Real Empowerment’ of local self-government and ‘Grassroots Democracy’.
According to the index, Odisha (56.86 per cent), Maharashtra (55.15 per cent), Chhattisgarh (49.68 per cent), Kerala (48.77 per cent) and Madhya Pradesh (45.94 per cent) have secured the top-five ranks.
The five states securing the bottom five spots are Jharkhand (21.72 per cent), Arunachal Pradesh (21.32 per cent), Meghalaya (14.82 per cent), Manipur (14.63 per cent) and Nagaland (13.37 per cent).
Recognising the need for reforms in urban governance, the foundation conducted an ‘Urban Governance Reforms Study’ by visiting 40 cities across 28 states and national capital territory of Delhi, from 2017-2020. The study involved a total of 1,568 interviews held with key stakeholders.
In the UGI, Odisha ranked first with a score of 56.86. Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh secured second, third, fourth and fifth spot respectively.
Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Manipur and Nagaland were the bottom five states with each scoring less than 20.
