Maharashtra was ranked fourth among 29 states in the country on the good governance index. The rankings, based on government data, places Kerala at the top, followed by Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The survey is carried out by Public Affairs Centre in a bid to encourage public debate and compel the government to perform.
The study ranked the states on 10 broad-based parameters, considered key to good governance. They were infrastructure, support to human development, social protection, women and children, crime, law and order, delivery of justice, environment, transparency and accountability, fiscal management and economic freedom. These again were divided into sub-indicators covering a list of 68 variables on which the survey was based.
Data used for the study was taken from Union government ministries and departments. The two exceptions were variables related to underweight children and educational learning levels, sourced from UNICEF and ASER. “We have taken the arithmetic mean of three years’ data or the latest data and growth rate to calculate the points,” said C.K. Mathew, former chief secretary of Rajasthan, who headed the survey. “With this survey, we have tried to bring together states that are economically and socially diverse to facilitate an interstate comparison. We will approach state governments with this data so that they understand their positions. In fact, a couple of state governments have already approached us on how to improve their position,” he added.
