State Govt clarifies on SDG ranking for Nagaland
Morung Express News
Kohima | September 9
While admitting that progress in the State of Nagaland has not been up to the expectation of the people in many ways, the State Government however viewed that “still we are not the worst. We are trying our best and let us see that we improve in every area.”
Following the report on the sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index 2020-2021 and state rankings, which was covered in the local media, the Nagaland Government has come out with a clarification terming the news report as “totally wrong, concocted and misleading.”
The third edition of the SDG Index 2020-21 was released by the Niti Aayog in June 2021. It was developed in collaboration with the United Nations in India. It tracks progress of all states and UTs on 115 indicators and incorporates 16 out of the 17 SDGs with a qualitative assessment on the 17 goals, and covers 70 SDG targets.
In the all India rankings, Kerala topped the index with an SDG score of 75 out of 100, while Nagaland, Chattisgarh and Odisha with a score of 61 out of 100 were placed in the bottom 5th spot.
Addressing media personnel this evening at his office at the Secretariat, Minister for Planning & Coordination, Land Revenue and Parliamentary Affairs & Spokesperson, Neiba Kronu said that with relatively higher scores, Nagaland ranks better than the North East states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya, while comparing the ratings from 2019 and 2020. (See table)
He informed that the index measures the performance of the districts in the eight states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura on the SDG and their corresponding targets.
Reacting to the media report, the Minister said that “such ill-researched and uninformed malicious reporting should not be allowed on media platforms as it leads to misinformation. The scores and the SDG ranking of Niti Aayog given clearly indicate the position of Nagaland. Therefore, the report clearly indicates mischievous intents.”
Conversely, terming the SDG Index as ‘eye-opening”, Kronu said the report shows where the government has to put in more effort.
The Minister also cited some probable reasons for Nagaland’s low performance as ‘under reporting or outdated data’ by the departments/agencies concerned. He said that furnishing of outdated data may be a cause for five districts of Nagaland to be in the bottom 10 of the North East Region.
He further maintained that “non-availability of data/lack of quality data” is another factor as there were certain indicators wherein the state could not provide data. He cited the percentage of wards with waste collection, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) treated out of total MSW generated (TPD) as one such instance.
Kronu viewed that there are certain indicators included in the NER district SDG indicator framework which may not be feasible as per the local state context. This, he said, may have impacted the state’s performance in the indicator framework.
The Minister also opined that the land holding system and failure to hold elections to the Urban Local Bodies are hindering progress and development in many areas, which also contributes to the low performance of the state in the SDG Index.
He informed that the government needs to come with a new Land Reform Bill, wherein a draft was submitted to the Law and Justice Department for examination, and also sought experts’ opinion on this ‘sensitive’ issue.
Regarding ULB elections, he stated a new system must be brought out so that all can participate. He stressed that the elections must take place.
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