‘Happening city’ Hyderabad has been ranked 24th by the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs on the ‘ease of living’ index, among 49 cities with million-plus populations. The assessment is based on parameters such as quality of life, economic stability and sustainability. The city was ranked 41st in ‘citizen perception’, behind Hubli (40), Ghaziabad (33) and Aurangabad (39), and behind Lucknow (33) in ‘quality of life’. This has baffled urban planners who count Hyderabad among the best cities with good infrastructure and low cost of living. The ruling TRS accuses the BJP-led government at the Centre of lowering Hyderabad’s ranking despite a phenomenal 18 per cent growth in software exports from the city this year. Residents of Gatchibowli, the city’s hi-tech strip, are surprised because Hyderabad has been the No. 1 city in India on Mercer’s quality of living index since 2015. However, locals from elsewhere in the Telangana capital complain that haphazard growth since the ‘city of...
