Of the 35 cities that participated in the evaluation, nine were awarded across four categories viz. mega cities, million plus cities, other JNNURM cities, and states.

The winners in each of the categories were the municipalities of Chennai, Vishakapatnam, Ajmer, and State of Orissa respectively.

The runners-up were the municipal corporations of Ahmedabad, Vijayawada and Madurai in million plus cities, Raipur and Rajasthan in state category.

When the centre launched JNNURM in December 2005, it recognised that mere funding of infrastructure projects would not transform cities. A strong focus on reforms, both at the urban local body (ULB) level and at the state level are essential for a city''s sustainable long-term growth.

Hemant Joshi, managing director & CEO, CRISIL risk and infrastructure solutions, explained, "CRISIL recognises the significance of this combination of funding & reforms, and its potential to create vibrant, eminently liveable, people-friendly cities. The Awards were launched by CRISIL in partnership with Ministry of Urban Development and this year''s theme was ''Commitment to Reforms under JNNURM''".

Further, he added, "The Awards complement the efforts of the Ministry and provide a framework for assessing the commitments made by the urban local bodies. Going forward, we believe they would form the basis for assessing the progress made by the state governments and urban local bodies in reform implementation."

This year''s edition is the third yet - the two earlier editions of the Awards were centred on the theme of "Core Reforms" and "Partnerships".

CRISIL widely disseminates these best practices through a "compendium of best practices" with the objective of catalysing change in the urban sector.