Thane ranks 11th in India in the ease of living index
According to the Ease of Living Index released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on Thursday, Thane ranks 11th among cities (49 cities surveyed) with a population of over one million. A total of 111 cities (population more than one million = 49 cities, population less than one million = 62 cities) have been surveyed. The other cities from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region that have bagged good rankings are Navi Mumbai (6th), Kalyan-Dombivali (12th), and Mumbai (10th). The scores for Navi Mumbai, Mumbai, Thane, and Kalyan Dombivali are 61.60, 58.23, 58.16, and 57.71 respectively. Bengaluru has bagged the first rank, while Pune ranks second.
The ease of living was measured on the basis of 1) Quality of life, 2) Economic ability, and 3) Sustainability. Quality of life takes into account education, health, housing, safety and security, among other factors. Economic ability encompasses the level of development and economic opportunities among other things. Sustainability includes factors like environment, green spaces and energy consumption.
In the last 10 years, Thane has witnessed rapid urbanization. Many builders built large complexes. There was a massive migration but the local administration failed to provide the same amount of civic amenities. It has come to light from this survey that while developing the city, recreational places, open spaces, grounds, green areas, and environment have not been given adequate thought.
On the other hand, there are some positives as well. The Wagle Estate area in Thane, which has earned a reputation as the largest industrial hub in Asia, is now being transformed into an IT hub. Many IT parks have been set up here in the last 10 years. Due to this, small and big industries outside Thane are now coming into the city.
In addition to the ease of living index, the Municipal Performance Index (MPI) is also taken into consideration. The MPI evaluates municipalities on the criteria of facilities, finance, technology, planning and management. Thane is ranked 25th out of 49 cities. Thanekars have given only 47 marks out of 100 to the aforementioned criteria, while they have expressed the most satisfaction with regular power supply and the most dissatisfaction with water logging, air quality, and required green space.