india

Updated: Sep 04, 2019 12:07 IST

National capital Delhi, which fell a few notches in the annual Global Liveability Index by Economist Intelligence Unit, has taken the biggest hit in the ‘stability’ parameter.

The study was conducted for 140 cities around the world, in which Vienna remained the most liveable city in the world for the second year in a row. New Delhi got an overall rating of 56.3 out of 100. This was followed by Mumbai which got a rating of 56.2 and was ranked 119 out of the 140 cities.

Delhi has dropped six places to 118 and the decline in ranking for the national capital was attributed primarily to an increase in petty crime cases over the past year as well as recording some of the world’s worst air quality levels.

“The Indian capital has seen an increase in petty crime cases over the past year, as well as recording some of the world’s worst air quality levels. The 2018 update to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Ambient Air Quality Database shows that New Delhi currently boasts the sixth highest annual mean concentration of fine particulate matter among cities around the world,” the report stated.

Out of the five parameters on which the cities were ranked, New Delhi got the lowest rating for its ‘stability’. The national Capital secured a score of 50 in terms of stability. The other four parameters included healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

For education, which is one of the key focus areas of the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government, New Delhi was given a score of 75 which was more than what some other cities got despite being higher up in the overall global ranking. The city of Noumea, for example, has been ranked 67 in the global liveability index, but its score in the education parameter was 66.7.

Owing to the problem of poor air quality which worsens in the national Capital during the winter months, New Delhi received a low score of 51.4 in the culture and environment category. The city got a score of 58.9 and 58.3 in the infrastructure and healthcare categories respectively.

According to experts, Delhi needs area or sector-based solutions for holistic development of the city. “Blanket solutions won’t work actually because the connotation of, say, safety and security is different in residential areas than what it is in a commercial area. Augmenting public transport and last mile connectivity is one aspect that actually addresses both the issues of safety and of pollution. This should be looked at immediately,” said Sanjukkta Bhaduri, professor of Urban Planning at School of Planning and Architecture.

The report stated that no mainland Chinese city received a score indicative of the top tier of liveability, and three Asian cities are among the ten least liveable globally. These include Port Moresby (135th), Karachi (136th) and Dhaka (138th).

Five cities in the Asia and Australia region made it to the top 1-, including Melbourne (2nd), Sydney (3rd), Osaka (4th), Tokyo (7th) and Adelaide (10th).