Guwahati, northeast India’s biggest city and a sort of “regional capital” for the seven (now eight with Sikkim added) states, is reported to be the second most polluted city in Central and South Asia. According to the 2023 World Air Quality report by IQAir, Guwahati city records 105.4 micrograms per cubic metre, which is 20 times more than the WHO recommended level of 5 ug/m3. Moreover, the report ranked India as the third-most polluted country in the world after Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The data is said to be exaggerated, though it is obvious that there is a rising concern in the city. Environment experts like Amaryoti Kashyap of ENVIRON, an organisation for environment management, dismiss the IQAir report, saying that it is totally false. While not denying that the city is not free of pollution, if it remains unchecked and unmonitored, there is certainly a risk and threat.

Meanwhile, the Assam State Pollution Control Board data for Guwahati city for the three years 2020–2022-2023 records 100–139 AQI values with an AQI status recorded as “moderate.” It recorded poor quality in 2021 post-Diwali with an AQI value above 200.

The 2024 Pollution Control Board’s data shows that from the beginning of the year in January to February, the AQI status is “poor,” with a value of 263 and 234 (an index value above 200 is poor). The AQI comes down to “moderate” levels in the months during monsoon seasons.

Arup Kumar Misra, the Chairman of the Pollution Control Board, says that air quality generally drops in winter due to a lack of rainfall and the consequent generation of dust particles from the sand bars along the Brahmaputra River. According to the Pollution Control Board Chairman, the air condition usually improves from the month of March onwards.

Guwahati, being the largest city in the entire north–eastern region, with a huge influx of economic migrants, is also the main economic hub and is subjected to infrastructural development and urban pressure.

“The ongoing construction and demolition activities, the increase in the number of vehicles, the road dust resulting from vehicular movement, and the weathering of road surfaces have contributed to the rise in PM levels in Guwahati,” said Misra.

Another concern arising is waterlogging and flooding in the city after just an hour or more of rain. The whole city gets clogged and jammed during the rainy season.

Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, Secretary General and CEO of Aaranyak, a biodiversity conservation organisation, says, “Waterlogging in Guwahati city has increased in recent years and spread to newer areas within the city.”

The crux of the problem, according to Talukdar, is the unabated cutting down of the hills in and around Guwahati, leading to silt filling up the drainage and therefore leading to waterlogging. Moreover, another concern is the conversion of wetlands and filling up of low-lying areas in Guwahati.

The wetlands and low-lying areas hold a sizeable amount of water, preventing waterlogging or flood-like situations. “This is now severely disturbed,” says Talukdar. “Although drainage has been made, there are huge gaps.”.

Talukdar says that to address the Guwahati flood and water logging issue, the existing wetlands and forests in and around the city have to be preserved.

“A sound drainage system plan with the help of a hydrologist is a must,” said Talukdar. “The hydrological connectivity of Deepor Beel and other wetlands in Guwahati has to be restored,” he emphasised.

Guwahati is a fast-growing city. It generates 550 TPD (approx.) of solid waste, as per Guwahati Municipal Corporation records. Activist and founder member of The Midway Journey, an environment conservation organisation, Shirshendu Sekhar Das puts it at 643 tonnes of waste per day. Das says, “This creates a huge amount of pollution.” Das further mentioned that the garbage dumping site is close to Deepor Beel, a wetland, and a Ramsar site, which he says is not an ideal site at all.

Five years ago, Das and a group of concerned and committed people began cleaning up waste from river banks. All the Guwahati city drains flow into the bank of the Brahmaputra River. “This further adds up to the littering on the riverside,” said Das.

Piles of waste lying on the river banks are a common sight, not only in Guwahati but in other towns and cities as well.

Das says, “But the littering in the bank is not as high as the waste that the drains bring down from the city and flow to the river.” Garbage and waste get stuck in the banks and other corners of the city. The Guwahati city drainage system empties out into the Brahmaputra River.

Just cleaning the river bank did not help. The problem of collecting a huge pile of garbage causes more problems. The question of what to do with the waste and how to manage the waste arises. And this is an urgent and growing issue in a city like Guwahati with a current population of approximately 1,199,455.

Beginning with 3 households that have reached 1,200 households now, Das and the team collect dry waste that is segregated from the source (that is, the household). Das said that this is further segregated into each category and sent to recycling industries.

Convincing and sensitising the general public is not an easy move. “A lot of work needs to be done to sensitise the general public,” said Das. Waste management requires proactive public participation and support.

NGOs are engaged by the Guwahati Municipal Corporation for waste collection in the city. There are 31 wards in the municipality. A total of 450 workers are employed. The NGOs also collect fees from households and commercial establishments.

Though waste is collected on a regular basis—two to three times a week—another problem is that it is not segregated. Though the general public began segregating in their homes, the waste collectors toss all the garbage bags in a vehicle and dump them all together at the same site. There is a general act of dismissing the activity of segregation by the public, as it does not make any sense.

Generally, household waste is not given much of a priority while commercial centres, like shopping malls, are more focused.

There is the revenue factor as well. Municipal and NGO workers collect Rs 50 from households in a month. This is a small sum. Beside the payment for the workers, there is expenditure involved in terms of transportation and vehicle maintenance. While small amounts are paid by households, the commercial centre pays a higher amount. “Perhaps that is why household waste is not given priority,” observed Das. “Municipalities and NGOs earn more from the commercial centres, so households are ignored.”.

Moreover, according to Das, the municipal workforce is low. He said, “It is difficult to handle the 10–12 lakh population of the city.”

Guwahati has also had numerous incidents of fire in the dumpsite. Early this year, the dumpsite at Belortol in Paschim Boragaon, near Deepor Beel, was on fire and emitted hazardous smoke for more than a month. Residents are reported to have had a difficult time. Not only the residents of the area are at risk, but the dumpsite is posing a grave threat to the ecology of the Deepor Beel, a wildlife sanctuary and a wetland, Assam’s only Ramsar site.

It is not that Guwahati city has no policy or city planning. Beside several others, the Guwahati City Action Plan includes reducing vehicular pollution by introducing CNGs and e-vehicles and controlling dust by creating green buffers. Monitor industrial emissions and open burning.

Several rules and regulations have been laid down in the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. The issue, though, is whether these policies and plans are being implemented and monitored proactively with zeal and commitment.

The writer is an independent contributor