Mumbai city first, suburbs second in Maharashtra government’s ‘Good governance’ report

MUMBAI: The city has been ranked first in the Maharashtra District Good Governance Index 2024 report unveiled by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday. It achieved this status for its good governance in the commerce and industries sector, while Mumbai suburban has been ranked second for its good governance in the public health sector. Mumbai city and its suburbs were also ranked in the top two positions in the economic governance and justice and security sectors.

With the help of the Centre, the state government has begun evaluating “good governance” in all Maharashtra’s districts. The performance of each district was evaluated in ten different sectors of the state on as many as 161 indicators. The first report was unveiled on Thursday.

The chief minister’s office released the names of the five districts and cities in the top five positions in ten different sectors in the index report. The ten sectors are: agriculture and allied sectors, commerce and industry, human resource development, public health, infrastructure development, social development, economic governance, justice and security, environment, and citizen-centric administration.

According to the report, in the commerce and industry sector, after Mumbai it is Raigad, Pune, Palghar and Thane in the next four positions. In the public health sector, Sindhudurg is first while Palghar, Beed and Ratnagiri have been ranked third, fourth and fifth for good governance.

In the sphere of economic governance, after Mumbai suburban and Mumbai city come Raigad, Jalgaon and Bhandara in the third, fourth and fifth positions. Similarly, Nagpur, Gadchiroli and Raigad districts have been ranked at third, fourth and fifth positions in the justice and security sector after Mumbai suburban and Mumbai city.

Curiously, Mumbai does not figure in good governance in the infrastructure development sector despite having the maximum infrastructure-related projects of all cities across Maharashtra. The top five districts in this sector are Latur, Nashik, Buldhana, Chandrapur and Hingoli.

Equally curiously, Mumbai city and Mumbai suburban have found a space in good governance in the environment sector, where they have been ranked fourth and fifth after Sangli, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and Solapur.

Commenting on the report, the chief minister said that the progress of a state depended on its ‘ease of living’. “The government is continuously working to improve the ease of living for the people,” he stated. “Good governance is reflected in how promptly the citizens receive government services. Good governance will strengthen the path towards achieving our goal of a trillion-dollar economy.”