Syllabus section: Governance / Indices and Reports
Why in News?
The Praja Foundation recently published its ‘Urban Governance Index, 2020’.
Highlights of the Governance Index
- The study was carried for over three years that is from 2017 to 2020. The index has ranked the states on a 100-point scale in the 42 indicators.
- The index highlights that, no state has developed 18 municipal functions to urban local bodies even Twenty-seven years after the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act was passed.
- The report highlighted that, no state has devolved all the municipal functions and the municipal bodies are dependent on the state for funds and decision-making.
- Some of the municipal functions out of total 18 include- solid waste management, Slum Improvement, water supply, up gradation and promotion of education.
- The report further said, there exists many urban governance schemes, policies and global and national level indices. But these schemes and indices focused only on the aspect of mapping the performance/delivery of urban services.
Performance of various states
- Odisha and Maharashtra ranked first and second respectively in the Governance Index. The report further finds that, Odisha and Maharashtra have the most accessible open data portal.
- Maharashtra and Kerala has been ranked first for devolution of financial power and accountability.
- Madhya Pradesh has been ranked first for active grievance redressal mechanism.
- These four heads are divided under four categories namely, empowered elected representatives & legislative structure, and empowered city administration, citizens and fiscal empowerment.
About the Praja foundation
- Praja is a non-partisan organization working towards enabling accountable governance since 1997.
- The Praja envisions improving the quality of life for all through simplifying people's lives, creating tools for better governance and making democracy work.
Source: The Indian Express