Reported by Bhadra Gogoi
Dimapur: Dimapur district has secured the 10th position among 121 districts in the 2023-24 North Eastern Region (NER) District SDG Index, recording a composite score of 76.29 and marking a significant improvement from its 2021-22 ranking.
The district had earlier scored 63.67 and ranked 76th among 103 districts in the previous edition of the index.
Presenting the district’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) profile during a review meeting on SDG India Index 4.0 and NER District SDG Index 2.0 at the Dimapur Deputy Commissioner’s conference hall on Thursday, Imtijungla Lemtur said the assessment evaluated progress using 84 indicators mapped to 50 SDG targets.
She said the index followed the SDG India Index methodology, assigning equal weightage across all goals. Districts were categorised as aspirants, performers, front-runners and achievers based on their scores.
Dimapur recorded strong performances in several sectors, including SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) with a score of 91, SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) with 97, SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) with 86, SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) with 87, and SDG 13 (Climate Action) with 88.
The report highlighted major gains in basic infrastructure and public services, including 100 per cent village electrification, full mobile network coverage in villages, universal access to improved drinking water sources and verified open defecation-free status across villages.
In the education sector, the district reported improvement in the availability of computers in schools, trained secondary-level teachers and lower secondary school dropout rates.
Health indicators showed high levels of institutional deliveries and skilled birth attendance, though officials noted the need for further improvement in areas such as infant mortality and healthcare infrastructure.
The district profile also recorded progress in sanitation, banking access, PMAY housing completion and internet connectivity. However, reduced inequalities, forest cover, healthcare services and municipal solid waste treatment were identified as areas requiring continued attention.
The meeting was attended by heads of departments and officials from various departments under Dimapur district.
In her opening remarks, Diana Patton said the SDG India Index 2023-24 covered 17 goals, 70 targets and 115 indicators.
She urged all departments to provide accurate and updated data and work collectively to further improve the district’s SDG performance and rankings.