Bhubaneswar: Bringing cheers to the people of Odisha, the state has topped the list of Indian states in urban governance index (UGI) 2020 and scored 56.86%, a study report brought out by Praja Foundation, New Delhi revealed Tuesday evening.
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According to a source, the ranking is based on a research of urban governance reforms carried out in 40 cities across 28 states and the national capital territory (NCT) of Delhi, comprehensively involving the status of urban reforms in the Indian states, identification of levers and barriers as well as set of recommendations made so far.
The Orissa Municipal Act, 1950 and Orissa Municipal Corporation Act, 2003 including Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) were considered for urban governance ranking, the source said.
However, it was found in the study that there is a lot of scope for improvement in the urban governance structure.
Notably, the Mayors of civic bodies in Odisha should have executive authority over their respective Commissioners; the councilors should be given a monthly salary; councils should have independent authority to frame bye-laws; respective citizens should have the right to recall a councilor in case of underperformance, the study suggested.
PNN