Tamil Nadu tops good governance index Manipur adjudged best in health in NE and Hill States section

Chennai, Dec 26
Tamil Nadu topped the composite ranking for Good Governance Index (GGI), with Maharashtra and Karnataka bagging the second and third spot respectively, according to a report released by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances and the Centre for Good Governance on Wednesday.
Chhattisgarh stood fourth, followed by Andhra Pradesh (fifth), Gujarat (sixth), Haryana (seventh) and Kerala (eighth). Madhya Pradesh bagged the ninth position, West Bengal tenth, followed by Telangana (11th), Rajasthan (12th), Punjab (13th), Orissa (14th), Bihar (15th), Goa (16th), Uttar Pradesh (17th) and Jharkhand at the eighteenth position in the big States category.
In the North East and hill category, Himachal Pradesh has topped the ranking followed by Uttarakhand, Tripura, Mizoram, Sikkim, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir (now divided into two union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh), Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
In the health sector, Manipur was adjudged the best among North East and Hill States category and second in the All India section.
Tamil Nadu has achieved excellence in sectors like public infrastructure, which measures indicators like access to potable water, towns that are Open Defection Free (ODF), connectivity to rural habitations, access to clean cooking fuel (LPG/PNG), 24×7 power supply etc.
The State has also fared well in judicial and public security, which factors in indicators like conviction rate, availability of police personnel, the proportion of women police personnel, disposal of Court cases, etc.
However, the State was found languishing in sectors like agriculture and allied sectors, commerce and industries, social welfare and development.
Speaking to the reporters on Thursday, Tamil Nadu Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar said the ranking reflected the improvement made by the State under the leadership of Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami.
“Tamil Nadu bagged the top position overall and has top-scored particularly in sectors like public infrastructure and law and order etc. There cannot be a greater victory than these rankings. TN has received the highest number of awards among other Indian States. This index is a tight slap on the face of people like Stalin and others who claim that there is no development in the State.  We will try to achieve excellence in other sectors also in the upcoming days,” Jayakumar said.
The States and Union Territories were divided into three groups — big States, North East and hill States and UTs — for the rankings based on certain indicators separately. Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh are among the big States that have fared poorly in the rankings.
In the North-East and Hill States, Himachal Pradesh has topped the list with a score of 5.22 followed by Uttrakhand and Tripura. Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland are the least performing States. Similarly, among Union Territories, Pondicherry, Chandigarh, and Delhi lead the ranking, with Lakshwadeep at the bottom.
“At present, there is no uniform index to objectively assess the state of good governance in the States. The good governance index attempts to create a tool which can be used to assess the states of governance and impact of various interventions taken by the sState Governments and the UTs,” PTI quoted the Personnel Ministry as saying.
Under the agriculture and allied sector, Madhya Pradesh has got the first position followed by Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh in the big States category. Mizoram has got the first position in North East and hill States category and Daman and Diu has bagged the top slot in the UT category for the sector.
In the commerce and industries sector, Jharkhand has got the first position in the big States category, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Among the North East and hill States, Uttarakhand has achieved the top rank, whereas Delhi is at the first rank in the Union Territories category.
Goa has got the first rank among big States for human resource development sector. Himachal Pradesh has got the first position among the North East and hill States and Pondicherry is in the first place among the UTs for this sector.
In the public health sector ranking, Kerala is at the top position followed by Tamil Nadu and Goa among the big States. Manipur and Pondicherry have got the first position in the North East and hill States, and UTs category for this sector.
Tamil Nadu has been ranked first in the public infrastructure and utility sector, followed by Gujarat and Punjab among the big States. Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh have got the top slot in North East and hill States, and UTs category for this sector.
Under the economic governance sector, Karnataka has got the first position followed by Maharashtra, Telangana, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu among the big States. Uttarakhand has got the top rank in the North East and hill States category. Delhi has got the first position in the Union Territories category for the sector.
Chhattisgarh has got the first position in the social welfare and development sector ranking. Meghalaya has topped the slot for the North East and hill States. Daman and Diu is in the first position in the UTs category for the sector.
For the judicial and public security sector, Tamil Nadu has got the first position followed by Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Haryana, Orissa, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal and Bihar. Himachal Pradesh is at the first position among the North East and hill States, and Pondicherry has got the top slot among the UTs, under the judicial and public security sector ranking.
Under the environment sector, West Bengal has got the first position followed by Kerala and Tamil Nadu among the big States. Jammu and Kashmir is in the first place among the North East and hill States, and Chandigarh in the Union Territories category for the ranking under the environment sector.