CDP Guwahati

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City Development Plan Guwahati

July 2006

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1 : Need & background of City Development Plan 5-7

1.1 Background 5

1.2 Objectives & Goals 6

1.3 Strategic Aims & Implementation Programme 7

1.4 Evolvement of CDP through a Consultative Process 7

Chapter 2 : Introduction to the Region 8-15

2.1 Guwahati Metropolitan Area 8

2.2 Population 9

2.3 Geographical Location 9

2.4 Climate of the Region 11

2.5 Soil Profile of the Region 11

2.6 Institutional Responsibility 12

2.7 Regional Linkages 13

2.7.1 Roads 13

2.7.2 Railways 14

2.7.3 Airways 14

2.8 Seismic Zone 14

Chapter 3 : Demography 16-27

3.1 Overall Decadal Population & Growth Rate 16

3.2 Population Density 18

3.3 Population Projections 19

3.4 Migrations 20

3.5 Urbanization 22

3.6 Age Mix and Sex Ratio 22

3.7 Literacy Rate 24

3.8 Work force Variance 24

3.8.1 Work Break-Up 25

3.8.2 Income Variance 27

Chapter 4 : Economic Base 28-34

4.1 Background 28

4.2 Industry 28

4.3 Key Industries 30

4.4 Informal Sector 34

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Chapter 5 : Profile of Urban Local Bodies 35-42

5.1 Background 35

5.2 Introduction to Guwahati Municipal Corporation 35

5.3 Financial Profile Guwahati Municipal Corporation 37

5.4 Summary of Key Observations 39

5.5 Action Plan 40

5.6 Funding for Capacity Building 40

Chapter 6 : Situation Appraisal 43-76

6.1 Environment 43

6.1.1 Disaster Management 45

6.2 Tourism 48

6.3 Water 49

6.4 Housing 53

6.5 Transportation 55

6.6 Drainage & Storm water Drainage 64

6.7 Sanitation & Sewerage 69

6.8 Basic Services for Urban Poor 70

6.9 Solid Waste Management 71

6.10 Water Front Development 75

6.11 Urban Renewal 75

Chapter 7 : Environment 77-80

7.1 Introduction 77

7.2 Background 77

7.3 Action Plan 77

7.3.1 Water Pollution 77

7.3.2 Drainage and Dredging 78

7.3.3 Air Pollution 78

7.3.4 Forest, Soil erosion & Hill Cutting 78

7.3.5 Water Bodies 79

7.3.6 Disaster Management 79

Chapter 8 : Vision & Perspective 81-83

8.1 Background 81

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Chapter 9 : Land Use and Availability 84-88

9.1 Background 84

9.2 Present Scenario 84

9.3 Land Use 2025 86

Chapter 10 : Tourism 89-93

10.1 Background 89

10.2 Vision 89

10.3 Waterfront Attraction 89

10.4 Religious Places 90

10.5 Other Places (Outside GMA) 91

10.6 Action Plans 92

Chapter 11 : Water 94-98

11.1 Background 94

11.2 Vision 94


11.4 Schemes 98

Chapter 12 : Housing 99-99

12.1 Aims and Objectives 99

12.2 Background 99

12.3 Situation Appraisal 99

Chapter 13 : Transportation 100-107

13.1 Background 100

13.2 Vision 100

13.3 Major Action Points 100

13.3.1 Traffic Management System 101

13.3.2 Integrated Transportation System 103

Chapter 14 : Drainage & Storm Water Drainage 108-113

14.1 Background 108


14.3 Background Storm Water Drainage 109

14.4 Action Plan 110

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Chapter 15 : Sanitation & Sewerage 114-115

15.1 Background 114

15.2 Action Plan 114

Chapter 16 : Basic Services to the Urban Poor 116-120

16.1 Background 116

16.2 Vision 116

16.3 Key Interventions 117

16.4 Key Actions 117

Chapter 17 : Solid Waste Management 121-127

17.1 Background 121


Chapter 18 : Waterfront Development 128-130

18.1 Background 128



Chapter 19 : Urban Renewal Programme 131-133

19.1 Vision 131

19.2 Background 131


Chapter 20 : Reform Program 134-142

20.1 Background and Reform Goals 134

20.2 Reform Agenda 134

Chapter 21 : City Investment Plan 143-152

21.1 Background 143

21.2 Sustainability & Financial Options 143

21.3 Sector Wise Utilisation 148

21.4 Financial Operating Plan 151

ANNEXURE 1 : CDP Through a Consultative Process 155-160

ANNEXURE 2 : Table on Institutional responsibility 161-161

ANNEXURE 3 : Analysis on Air Samples, Standards & Ambient Air Quality 162-162

ANNEXURE 4 : Details on Receipt & Expenditure of GMC (2002-2004) 163-164

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1. Need & background of City Development Plan

1.1 Background Cities and towns play a vital role in the countrys socio-economic growth, its

transformation and change. The exponential increase in population and

unplanned growth over the years have created enormous pressure on the

availability of land and infrastructure with the result that most cities and towns are

severely stressed in terms of available infrastructure and delivery of basic

services.

Guwahati is recognized to be the most critical city in the Northeast India. The city

has a well-developed connectivity with the rest of the country and acts as the

gateway to the entire North Eastern India. Hence, the development of the city is

not only critical to the state of Assam but also to the entire Northeast. Given the

criticality of the city to the entire region, it is quite evident that population of the

city would continue to grow rapidly in the future.

It is therefore extremely important that for the entire region to grow, the city

needs to adopt a holistic and an all round Plan for development. An Integrated

City Development Plan laying down a long-term vision for the city and also

identifying key Strategies and Action Plans for achieving the same is important.

Absence of the same would lead to Piece-meal and Skewed development.

In order to encourage planned development of the urban sector across the

country, the Government of India has recently launched the Jawaharlal Nehru

National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The Mission aims at bringing about

fast track planned development of identified cities with a clear focus on bringing

efficiency in urban infrastructure and service delivery mechanisms, community

participation, and accountability of ULBs/ Parastatal agencies towards citizens.

Guwahati is one of the 63 cities, which have been identified under the said

mission. The mission has also identified drawing up a City Development Plan as

one of the critical milestones in this regard.

In view of the above, Guwahati has taken up a programme of a City

Development Plan (CDP). The CDP focuses on the development of infrastructure

and builds up strategies that deal specifically with issues affecting the urban

poor, strengthening of municipal governments, their financial accounting,

The City Development Plan

if efficiently and equitably

managed, will trigger

collateral development of its

adjoining hinterland mostly

through trickling down

effect- which will in turn

help raise the level of over

all welfare in this part of the

region directly, and all over

the State as well as the

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budgeting systems and procedures, creation of structures for bringing in

accountability and transparency, and elimination of legal and other bottlenecks

that have stifled the land and housing markets. It provides a basis for cities to

undertake urban sector reforms that help direct investment into city-based

infrastructure using the Public Private Partnership (PPP) route.

1.2 Objectives & Goals

The objectives and Goals of the CDP are in line with that of the

JNNURM and form the basis of the Strategies and Action Plans being

drawn herein.

Specifically, the CDP aims at achieving the following objectives:

The prime strategic goals are

Promote focused, balanced and sustainable economic and infrastructure

development that will enable Guwahati to fulfill its role as the Gateway to

the North-East (N-E) India and possibly to the South East Asia under the

look east policy of the Government of India;

Provide for and build a natural environment that contributes to providing

a good quality of life for the residents and visitors;

Provide Basic Services to the Urban Poor through quality delivery of civic

amenities and provision of utilities with emphasis on universal access at

an affordable price

Planned development leading to dispersed urbanisation and reduction of

congestion;

Improving Inter and Intra regional accessibility;

Raise adequate funds for meeting the investment requirements in the

infrastructure sector;

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Ensuring a mechanism for maintenance of assets created, so as to

ensure long term project sustainability;

1.3 Strategic Aims & Implementation Programme The overall goals are in turn integrated into the strategic aims of what the City

seeks to achieve in the lifespan of the Mission and beyond. These aims also form

the basis for the identification of various schemes and programs besides

formulation of policies to be taken up over the Mission Period.

The plan includes strategic aims for each of the sectors as has been recognized

by the Mission and in order to achieve the same a number of schemes and

programmes have been identified.

It may be recognized that the CDP is a dynamic document and has been

designed to be responsive to ever-changing requirements of the citizens of

the city. To the extent that the requirements change, the Plan will be

continuously reviewed and developed to ensure that it is in line with the

changing aspirations of the people.

1.4 Evolvement of CDP through a Consultative Process

In order to develop a shared vision of the area, views of stakeholders consisting of

- Citizens/Beneficiaries, Peoples Representatives, key member of local industries,

Academic & Research Institutions and members of the respective Urban Local

Bodies have been taken. Suggestions, issues, interventions, views, ideas,

proposals etc. emerging from consultation has been provided in the Vision as well

as taken into account while formulating the CDP.

DETAILS OF CONSULTATIVE PROCESS HAVE BEEN

PROVIDED IN ANNEXURE-I

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2. Introduction to the Region

2.1 Guwahati Metropolitan Area The City Development Plan (CDP) focuses on the Guwahati Metropolitan

Development Authority jurisdiction, comprising of Guwahati Municipal

Corporation Area (GMCA), North Guwahati Town Committee area, Amingaon

and some revenue villages. The area is known as the Guwahati metropolitan

area (GMA) and covers an area of 264 kms.

Guwahati is a part of Kamrup District and is situated between 25.43 and

26.51 North Latitude and between 90.36 and 92.12 East Longitude. Located

on the banks of the Brahamaputra River, it is the largest commercial, industrial

and educational center of the N-E region.

Guwahati is easily accessible by air, rail & road. Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi

International Airport is a modern airport and most airlines have daily flights from

all metros across India via Delhi and Kolkata. In addition, it also has regular

connectivity with the South East Asia with twice a week flights connecting

Bangkok with the region.

The Guwahati

Metropolitan Area

covers a jurisdiction

of 264 sq km and

comprises of

Guwahati Municipal

Corporation Area,

North Guwahati

Town Committee,

Amingaon.

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2.2 Population

As per Census 2001, the population of Kamrup district is 25,15,030,

contributing to 9.44% of the state population; Kamrup is the most populous

district of the state. Also among the districts of Assam, Kamrup shows the

maximum decadal growth rate (28.73%) during 1991-2001.

The total population covered under the Guwahati Metropolitan Area as per

2001 census is 8,90,773.

2.3 Geographical Location

Guwahati is situated on the banks of river Brahmaputra with its cardinal points as

26010 north latitude and 92

049 east longitude. It is located towards the South-

Eastern side of Kamrup district, which is surrounded by Nalbari district in the

North, Darrang and Marigaon districts in the East, Meghalaya State in the south

and Goalpara and Barpeta districts in the West.

The city is situated on an undulating plain with varying altitudes of 49.5 m to 55.5

m above Mean Sea Level (MSL). The Southern and Eastern sides of the city are

surrounded by hillocks. Apart from the hilly tracts, swamps, marshes, water

bodies like Deepor Beel, Silpukhuri, Dighali Pukhuri, Borsola Beel and Silsakoo

Beel etc also cover the city.

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Map 1: Map of Guwahati

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2.4 Climate of the Region The climate of the state is characterized by a warm and humid feeling. As the

tropic of cancer runs through the state, the climate is temperate but pleasant.

The monsoon brings heavy rains to Guwahati. The average temperature is

31.5C to 24.7C in summers and 24.9C to 12.5C in winters.

The city has four well-defined seasons, summer, monsoon, winter and spring.

Winter season is from October to March and spring starts from April and this is

the best time to visit Guwahati. A mild and moderate climate never given to

extreme cold or heat is the main feature of Guwahatis climate.

Table 1: Climate of the Region

Mean Temperature oC

Month Daily

Minimum Daily

Maximum

Mean Total Rainfall

(mm) Mean Number of

Rainy Days

Jan 9.8 23.6 11.4 1.2

Feb 11.5 26.4 12.8 1.3

Mar 15.5 30.2 57.7 4.6

Apr 20.0 31.5 142.3 9.0

May 22.5 31.0 248.0 14.3

Jun 24.7 31.4 350.1 16.1

Jul 25.5 31.8 353.6 16.8

Aug 25.5 32.1 269.9 13.9

Sep 24.6 31.7 166.2 10.3

Oct 21.8 30.1 79.2 5.3

Nov 16.4 27.4 19.4 1.5

Dec 11.5 24.6 5.1 0.4

Source: Regional Meteorological Centre Guwahati 1951 -1980

2.5 Soil Profile of the Region

The city is situated on an undulating plain with varying altitudes of 49.5 m to 55.5

m above mean sea level (MSL). The southern and eastern sides of the city are

surrounded by hillocks. The central part of the city also has small hillocks like

Sarania hill (193 m), Nabagraha hill (217 m), Nilachal hill (193 m) and Chunsali

Hill (293 m). Apart from the hilly tracts, swamps, marshes and small water bodies

like Deepar beel, Dighali Pukhuri and Silsakoo beel etc also cover the city.

The city is situated on

an undulating plain

with varying altitudes of

49.5 m to 55.5 m

above mean sea level

(MSL).

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The construction activities on the hills in Guwahati have resulted in the removal

of vegetation cover in the forest area thereby exposing the surface. It has been

observed that the soil loss is more on theexposed slopes than the vegetation

covered slopes. The problem of soil erosion is significant not only from the view

point of loss of soil fertility but also with respect to from the several

environmental issues such as water logging, flashflood, siltation, decrease in the

ground water table and the dusty environment on sunny days.

2.6 Institutional Responsibility The primary development agenda of Guwahati city is carried out by two main

agencies, the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) and the Guwahati

Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA). The area covered under GMDA

includes the GMC area of 216 sq kms and an additional 48 sq kms.

Table 2: Institutional Framework

AUWSSB- Assam Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Department

GMC- Guwahati Municipal Corporation

GMDA- Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority

PHE- Public Health Engineering

PWD- Public Works Department

FCD- Flood Control Department

T&CP: Town and Country Planning

Note: The area responsibilities are provided in annexure 2

Infrastructure Planning and

Design Construction

Operation and Maintenance

Water supply

PHE/AUWSSD/GMC PHE/AUWSSD/GMC PHE/AUWSSD/GMC

Sewerage

PHE/AUWSSD/GMC/ FCD

PHE/AUWSSD/GMC/ FCD

PHE/AUWSSD/GMC/ FCD

Drainage

PHE/AUWSSD/GMC/ FCD

PHE/AUWSSD/GMC/ FCD

PHE/AUWSSD/GMC/ FCD

Storm water drainage

GMDA/GMC/T&CP

GMDA/GMC GMDA/GMC

Solid Waste disposal

GMC GMC GMC

Municipal roads (Including flyover)

PWD/GMDA/GMC PWD/GMDA/GMC PWD/GMDA/GMC

Street lighting

PWD/GMDA/GMC PWD/GMDA/GMC PWD/GMDA/GMC

Town Planning GMDA & T& CP GMDA GMDA

The Guwahati Municipal

Development Authority

(GMDA) is the nodal

agency for the

development of the area.

Major portion of the

region however forms

apart of the GMC area

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The presence of multiple agencies while discharging similar duties has compounded the problem

of service delivery in the city of Guwahati. Though each of the agencies in question has a clear

demarcation with respect to service delivery in specific locations, for example, the PHE supplying

drinking water to State Government installations, many a time, there are duplications of effort.

The problem is compounded more so with respect to consumers, who have to deal with a number

of agencies for redressal and service delivery.

The need of the hour with respect to the functioning of the various agencies concerning the

discharge of civic functions is to bring about accountability of service delivery. In addition,

wherever possible, the functioning of the agencies need to be streamlined to bring it under one

agency, which will not only help in improving service delivery but also bring about accountability.

Further, some of the specific activities further streamlined with entrustment to individual agencies.

For example, the planning and design for drainage could be entrusted to the PHE department

and the construction could be with the PWD.

It is, however, apparent that each of the agencies operating in the city has predefined areas in

which they operate, and hence there is a broad clarity on their roles and responsibilities. But it is

recognized that the various agencies need to be brought under the ambit of the Guwahati

Municipal Corporation, which should have the overall responsibility of providing infrastructure

services in Guwahati and shall utilize the services of other agencies on a need basis.

2.7 Regional Linkages

Guwahati being the most important city of the Northeast has fairly well developed

road, rail and air connectivity with the rest of the country and other cities and

towns of the region. This is one of the major benefits of the Guwahati

Metropolitan Area, since it offers good connectivity and related privileges for the

development of the entire region.

2.7.1 Roads

Guwahati Metropolitan Area has been touched upon by National Highway 31,

National Highway 37, and National Highway 40. National Highways 31 and 37

connect GMA with the rest of the country, while National highway 40 and State

Highways connect the area with other north-eastern states of Tripura,

Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh and other

cities and towns of Assam. National Highway 40 is a major link connecting

The city has a

well-developed

connectivity with

the rest of the

country. The city

acts as the

gateway to the

North-East

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Guwahati City with Shillong, Mizoram and southern parts of Assam. Whereas

National Highway 31 connects the city with Bongaigaon, Dhuburi and enters

West Bengal in the west. All the census towns and other important areas are

located on or along the National Highways 31 and 37.

2.7.2 Railways

A broad gauge railway line connects Guwahati with other nearby major towns like

Rangia, Bongaigaon, Khetri, etc. and further with the rest of the country. The

Broad Gauge Railway Track also connects Guwahati with Dibrugarh Tinsukia

in the East.

2.7.3 Airways

Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport at Guwahati is the largest

besides being the busiest airport in the entire North Eastern region. It connects

the city with major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata as well as with other cities in

Assam and the North-Eastern region like Agartala, Imphal, Silchar, Tezpur,

Jorhat, Dimapur, North Lakhimpur and Dibrugarh. Guwahati airport caters to both

private and national airlines and has been recently converted in to an

international airport with direct connectivity to South East Asia.

2.8 Seismic Zone

The Brahmaputra valley and its adjoining highlands

constitute a highly active seismic zone. Guwahati falls

in the Seismic Zone V, where earthquakes of

magnitude 8 or more can occur i.e. the zone with

highest intensity along with the entire north-eastern

region. Guwahati and its surrounding area are situated

on the fringe of hard rock formation. Its vulnerability to

the sesmic activity is excerbated due to congestion

brought on by topography, with poorly build housing

and narrow streets. Earthquakes measuring upto 8.7

on the Richter scale occurred here in 1897 and 1950.

Between 1920 and 1980 as many as 455 earthquakes

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of magnitude 5 on the Richter scale were recorded in the region, an average of 8

per year

Since, earthquakes are among the most dangerous and destructive natural

hazards and are also the least easy to predict, warnings against it or

preparations against physical destruction are difficult. Thus this calls for an

attention to such natural disasters so that necessary precautionary disaster

management steps can be undertaken.

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3. Demography

3.1 Overall Decadal Population & Growth Rate

The State of Assam has been consistently witnessing a balanced growth in

population. Assam accounts for over 70 % of the population of the Northeast

(census 2001). The District Kamrup is one of the most densely populated regions

of Assam.

Guwahati is a fast growing metropolis and the most important city of the region.

The city with a population of 8.9 Lakhs (Census 2001) is by far the largest

settlement, while Shillong and Imphal, with population size of only 2.7 and 2.5

lakhs respectively are second and third largest cities in the North Eastern region.

With substantial increase in population in the last few decades and poised to grow

further, the City needs a well-structured development plan in its infrastructure to

sustain this rapid growth.

The population of Guwahati Metropolitan Area has grown almost 6.5 times

between 1971 and 2001. The municipal limit of the city during the period

increased from 43.82 sq.km in 1971 to 216.79 sq.km in 1991. The Decadal

Growth in the GMA is otherwise quite balanced. The following Graph shows the

population trend of the city over the decades.

Population growth in Guwahati vis--vis India, Assam and Kamrup

1971 1991 2001

Name Population Population

Average Decadal

Growth Rate Population

Decadal Growth Rate in Percent

India 548.15 846.3 24.25 1,027.01 21.35

Assam 14.63 22.41 23.8 26.64 18.85

Kamrup 1.21 2 28.73 2.52 25.75

GMA 0.29 0.65 48.45 0.89 37.85

GMCA 0.12 0.58 117.27 0.81 38.6

Table 3: Population Growth

Source: Various issues of the Census of India No census was carried out during 1981

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Fig 1: Population breakup of the GMDA from 1921 to 2001

Source: Various Issues of Census of India

Table 4: Growth of population in Guwahati: 1921 to 2001

Source: Census Statistical Hand Book and Zoning Regulations for Guwahati

Year Population in GMCA

Decadal Growth (%)

GMA excluding GMCA

Decadal Growth (%)

GMA Decadal Growth (%)

1921 16,480 - -

1931 21,797

1941 29,594

1951 43,615 53,774 97,389

1961 100,707 130.9 98,775 83.69 199,482 104.83

1971 123,783 22.91 169,436 71.54 293,219 46.99

1981* 268,945 117.27 102,351 -39.6 371,296 48.45

1991 584,342 117.27 61,827 -39.6 646,169 48.45

2001 809,895 38.6 80,878 30.81 890,773 37.85

97,389

199,482

293,219371,296

646,169

890,773

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

700,000

800,000

900,000

1951 1961 1971 1981* 1991 2001

1951 1961 1971 1981* 1991 2001

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The decadal population growth in Guwahati Metropolitan Area is nearly, 37.85%,

which is substantially higher than that of the National decadal growth of 21.35%.

Table 5: Decadal Growth

Name Decadal Growth Rate in

Percent (2001)

India 21.35

Assam 18.85

Kamrup 25.75

GMCA 37.85

GMDA 38.6 Source: Guwahati Master Plan

3.2 Population Density The Population Density of Guwahati has been steadily increasing. The following

graph shows trends in Population Density since 1981

Fig 2: Decadal Growth

2558

2705

3741

0 1000 2000 3000 4000

1981

1991

2001

Population density Of Guwahati

Source: Various issues of the Census of India

The above density of 3741 is moderate. However the growth in density has been

on an increasing trend as can be observed in the table given above. Further, the

growth has been largely skewed resulting in congestion in certain pockets.

With such high increase in population coupled with inequitable growth in the city,

congestion has been the order of the day at present not only on the city roads but

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with respect to living conditions as well. In addition, there has been unplanned

urbanization all across the city leading to skewed development and congestion.

Hence, a decongestion programme backed by a systematic development plan in

basic infrastructure is required.

3.3 Population Projections The GMA region has been experiencing an above average growth in population

due to a mix of factors such as annexation, natural growth and migration. The

population of GMCA and GMA (excluding GMCA) has been computed from the

previous census 2001 and then the trend has been formulated on an exponential

series to forecast the future projections. This has been done in order to develop a

projection trend in line with the trend observed in the past. The last Decadal

growth rate is only considered for this projection i.e. 38.6 % for GMCA and nearly

30 % for the other region. Based on the above, the total population of the GMA

Area is expected to reach a total of 27 lacs by Year 2031.

Table 6: Population Trend and Projections

Year Population in GMCA GMA excluding GMCA GMA

1951 43,615 53,774 97,389

1961 100,707 98,775 199,482

1971 123,783 169,436 293,219

1981 268,945 102,351 371,296

1991 584,342 61,827 646,169

2001 809,895 80,878 890,773

2011 1,191,418 110062 1,301,480

2021 1,752,668 149776 1,902,444

2031 2,578,310 203821 2,782,131

Source: Various issues of the Census of India *No Census could be conducted in Guwahati in 1981. The 1981 population figures have been

extrapolated on the basis of the 1971-1991 CAGR. The figures from 2011 to 2031 are projected figures.

The table shows projection for i.e. GMCA and the GMA. The total projected

population of the GMA would stand at over 27 Lakhs by 2031.

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Fig 3: Population Trend & Projections

3.4 Migrations One of factors accounting for the rapid growth in population has been migration

from other areas to the GMA Region. The following table gives a vivid picture of

people migrating to the region and the composition of migrants for the last

decade.

Table 7: Change in pattern of Migration in Guwahati City

Proportion of migrants (%) Migrants

1971 1991

Proportion of migrants in resident population 58.79 47.38

(a) Males 63.46 48.19

(b) Females 51.86 46.34

Total Migrants (a+b) 100 100 Source: Guwahati Master Plan

The below table demonstrates the reason of Migration. It has been observed that

a large section of people have migrated for reasons such as family connection,

marriage, employment, education and business.

Note: Migration has been computed at around 25% of the population

584,342809,895

2,578,310

1,191,418

1,752,668

20382114977611006261,827

80,878

646,169890,773

1,301,480

2,782,131

1,902,444

0

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

3,000,000

1991 2001 2011 2021 2031

Population in GMCA GMDA excluding GMCA GMDA

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Table 8: Migrants by place of last Residence to Guwahati City by reasons for Migration

Employment Business Education Family

movement Marriage

Natural Calamities

Others

Total (%)

(%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)

Total 100 22 8.8 6 22.5 17.3 0.4 22.9

A Last Residence in India

Total 100 22.4 8.8 6.3 22.3 17.5 0.4 22.3

Rural 100 24.3 9.6 6.6 20.6 17.1 0.4 21.4

Urban 100 19.9 7.8 5.9 24.8 18 0.4 23.2

1 Migrants from within Assam

Total 100 24.7 6.4 7.5 20.8 18.6 0.3 21.7

Rural 100 26.1 6.6 7.9 19.5 18.1 0.4 21.5

Urban 100 22.5 6 7 23.1 19.6 0.3 21.6

1a Migrants from within District

Total 100 23.8 5.8 7.1 18.4 21.2 0.4 23.3

Rural 100 24.6 5.6 7.4 18.4 20.3 0.4 23.2

Urban 100 20.2 6.6 5.4 17.9 25.6 0.6 23.6

1b. Migration from other districts in Assam

Total 100 24.9 6.6 7.6 21.5 17.9 0.3 21.2

Rural 100 26.7 7 8 19.9 17.2 0.3 20.8

Urban 100 22.7 6 7.1 23.6 18.9 0.2 21.4

2 Migrants from other states in India

Total 100 17.2 14.4 3.5 25.8 14.8 0.5 23.8

Rural 100 19 18.6 2.8 24.1 14 0.4 21.1

Urban 100 15.8 10.6 4.1 27.6 15.5 0.5 25.9

B Last residence outside India

Total 100 13.2 8.8 1.2 27 14.1 0 35.7

Source: Adopted from Table D-10, Census of India -1991, Series-4, Migration Tables

. Fig 4: Profile of Migrants

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Migrants from within

Assam

Migrants from within

District

Migration from other

districts in Assam

Migrants from other

states in India

Employment Business EducationFamily movement Marriage Natural CalamitiesOthers

Source: Guwahati Master Plan

22

3.5 Urbanization Assam is one of the least urbanized states of the country. While the share of

urban population to total population of Assam in 1951 was only 4.29%, it has

increased to 12.1% in 2001, which is still lower than the national average of

27.78%. Even among the North Eastern states, Assam has the lowest

urbanization, with Mizoram at 49.5% being the most urbanized state in the NE

region. Among all the districts of Assam, Kamrup is the most urbanized with

35.81% urbanization.


Guwahati is the largest urban centre in Assam with 23.89% of the total urban

population of the state. Guwahati alone contributes 55% of the combined

population of the significant towns of Assam.

3.6 Age Mix and Sex Ratio The composition of the Guwahati City population as per the 2001 census shows

that nearly 46% of the total population is Female.

Fig 6: Composition of Population 1991/2001


Composition of Population:-1991

Male:

56%

Female

44%

Male: Female

Composition of Population -2001

Female

46% Male:

54%

Male: Female

27.78 26.73

12.7211.1

35.81 32.76

94.34

94.3100 100

0

20

40

60

80

100

India Assam Kamrup GMDA GMCA

2001 1991

Fig 5: Urbanization Trend For The Last Decade

23

The composition of Population as per the 2001 census reveals that there has

been a small growth in female population vis-a-vis male population. At present

46% of the Guwahati Population is Female with the rest being male. The age

wise composition of the population is given below:

Table 9: Age-Sex Distribution in GMCA: 2001 Age Total % Total Male % Male Female % Female

0 - 9 137,506 16.98 71,124 16.15 66,382 17.96

10--14 84,481 10.43 42,947 9.75 41,534 11.24

15-19 75,811 9.36 40,398 9.18 35,413 9.58

20-24 84,677 10.46 45,456 10.32 39,211 10.61

25-29 89,565 11.06 46,409 10.54 43,156 11.68

30-34 76,081 9.39 41,341 9.39 34,740 9.4

35-39 72,976 9.01 40,497 9.2 32,479 8.79

40-49 95,061 11.74 56,525 12.84 38,536 10.43

50-59 52,763 6.51 32,349 7.35 20,414 5.52

60-69 26,865 3.32 15,391 3.5 11,474 3.1

70-79 10,197 1.26 5,840 1.33 4,357 1.18

80+ 3,912 0.48 2,011 0.46 1,901 0.51

All ages 809,895 100 440,288 100 369,597 100

Source: Census of India

Moreover the age mix of the total population is also explained in the adjoining

table. It is observed that the child population i.e. the population between the age

group 0-9 is the majority in the city followed by the age group of 25-29.This

indicates that a large segment of the population in the city is young.

Fig 7: Population Distribution

137,506

84,48175,811

84,67789,565

76,08172,976

95,061

52,763

26,865

10,1973,912

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

0 - 9 10--

14

15-

19

20-

24

25-

29

30-

34

35-

39

40-

49

50-

59

60-

69

70-

79

80+

GMDA-total population Male Female


The graph shows the categorical breakup of the Age and sex mix of the population.

24

3.7 Literacy Rate The literacy rate of Assam was 53.78% in 2001, which is lower than the all India

average of 65.37%. The literacy rate in Kamrup district is 74.69% in 2001,

registering an increase of 9.65% over the 1991 figure of 65.04%. GMCA

registered around 9% growth in literacy rate between 1991 and 2001. This

increase in literacy rate may be attributed to the transformation of socio-cultural

importance of education in the society and the growing government emphasis on

education.

Fig 8: Literacy Rates


3.8 Work force Variance The economy of the city is essentially based on the tertiary sector. Majority of the

workforce in Guwahati is dependent on the government and public sector jobs

indicating lack of development of Industries and enterprise. The work

participation rate in Guwahati in 1991 was 32.2%. The corresponding male and

female figures were 52.4% & 8.7% respectively. Guwahati has considerable low

female worker participation. The following table gives a detail worker participation

in the different sectors.

Table 10:Workers Participation

Particulars % Of total male or female worker

Male 52.4%

Female 8.7%

52.89%

53.78%

65.04%

74.69%

70.60%

77%

0.00% 20.00% 40.00% 60.00% 80.00%

Assam

Kamrup

GMDA

1991 2001

25

3.8.1 Workforce Breakup

The major contribution in employment of Guwahati is mostly from the wholesale

and retail markets and least being electricity, gas and water. The breakup of work

force is given below in tabular form.

Table 16: Workforce Breakup

Activity Code

Major Industry Group Employment in Reference Area

(Assam)

Employment in

Local Area (GMA)

1 Raising Of Live Stock 37,785 2,059

2 Agricultural Services (Hunting, Forestry & Fishing) 16,756 232

3 All Agricultural Activities (Sr. 1 + Sr. 2) 54,541 2,291

4 Mining & Quarrying 24,309 1,021

5 Manufacturing 390,007 16,747

6 Electricity, Gas & Water 6,141 36

7 Construction 55,467 1,622

8 Wholesale Trade 30,711 7,034

9 Retail Trade 163,791 40,211

10 Restaurants & Hotels 68,112 11,097

11 Transport 15,487 5,099

12 Storage & Warehousing 5,658 1,128

13 Communications 13,088 2,005

14 Financial, Insurance, Real Estate and

Business Services 50,738 14,648

15 Community, Social and Personal Services 735,232 95,145

Total 1,613,282 198,084

Source: Fourth Economic Census of India, 1998

26

Below is the Graphical presentation of workforce Breakup in Guwahati

From the above graphs, it has been observed that maximum employment is

generated from the tertiary sector. In primary sector, maximum employment is

Distribution of workers in Primary Sector

24%

20%47%

9%

Cultivation

Agriculture Labour

Animal Husbandry

Mining

Distribution of workers sector wise(1991)

5%12%

83%Primary Sector

Secondary Sector

Tertiary Sector

Distribution of workers in Secondary Sector

5%

95%

Household Industry Non-Household Industry

Distribution of w orkers in Tertiary Sector

7%

31%

17%

45%

Const ruct ion Trade & Commerce

Transport & Storage Other Services

27

provided by the animal husbandry segment. Non-household industry segment

generates the maximum employment in the secondary sector and in the tertiary

sector, maximum contribution is from other services.

3.8.2 Income Variance

The poverty level figures have been incorporated and compared both on Indian

Poverty Line and also on Millennium Development goals to understand the

additional share of the population in the city to be targeted for poverty reduction

measures under this renewal programme. 31.1% of the total population of

Guwahati is under BPL

Table 11 : Poverty Levels

Poverty Levels

Based on Indian Poverty Line (INR386/Capital/month)

Based on Millennium Development Goals

City BPL (%) Above Poverty Line (%)

Less than US$1/Capita/Day (%)

Above US$1/Capita/Day

(%)

Guwahati 31.1 68.9 77.6 22.4

Agartala 24.8 75.2 76.2 23.5

Itanagar 8.2 91.8 44.2 55.8

Kohima 14.5 85.5 56 44

Gangtok 17.6 82.4 57.7 42.3

Imphal 26.7 73.3 65.1 34.9 Source : Various issues of the Census of India

The table gives a comparative analysis of the earning variance in comparison to

the other important capital cities of Northeast. Guwahati has a high-income

variance with the highest number of people living under the poverty line.

It is quite evident that Guwahati has been experiencing a stable population

growth and a decent population density, which is not very high in comparison to

the other urban capital cities of India and the Northeast region. The city marks a

high literacy rate of nearly 77%, which is higher than that of the country average.

However in terms of income variance, it is observed that more than 30% people

are residing below the poverty line. Besides, women participation as worker in

Guwahati is least as compared to the other northeastern capital cities.

28

4. Economic Base

4.1 Background

Guwahati is the largest city in the entire North Eastern Region. It ranks 44th

among 5230 urban centres in India (as per 1991). It is the regional hub and all

other states in the region depend on the city for connectivity to not just the rest of

the country but also the North Eastern region as well. The city is not just a tourist

destination but is also the gateway to the rest of the North Eastern Region.

Guwahati is the major hub of economic activity in the entire northeastern region.

The establishment of Guwahati Refinery in 1962 marked the beginning of

industrialization in the city. The construction of bridge over River Brahmaputra at

Saraighat and the shifting of capital from Shillong to Guwahati in 1972 made

tremendous economic impact on the city and turned Guwahati into one of the

most important cities in the Northeast.

4.2 Industry

The economic activity of Assam is based on Agriculture and Oil. More than half

of India's petroleum is produced in Assam. It also produces significant part of

total world's tea production. Though it is an agriculturally based State,

industrialization of Assam dates back to the beginning of the nineteenth century,

when the Country's first petroleum refinery was setup by the British at Digboi in

Upper Assam. The central projects like Oil India Ltd., ONGC Ltd., HFC Ltd.,

Petro-chemical project and more recently Numaligarh Refinery have been

established in the state.

Guwahati is one of the major industrial centres of Assam and the North Eastern

Region. The location of the Head quarter of NF railway, Guwahati Oil Refinery at

Noonmati and other heavy and medium size petro-chemical industries have

added industrial impetus to the city.

Ever since the major industrial development through the establishment of the

Guwahati refinery in 1961 the city has seen a steady growth in the industrial

sector. During the 1990s, the major focus of industrial development in Guwahati

has been light and medium industries. Till 1980 there were 19 large and medium

industries in Guwahati. There were 669 units of industries located in Guwahati in

Guwahati is the

largest city in the

entire North Eastern

Region. It ranks 44th

among 5230 urban

centres in India (as

per 1991).

The economic

activity of Assam is

based on Agriculture

and Oil. More than

half of India's

petroleum is

produced in Assam.

It also produces

significant part of

total world's tea

production

29

the year 1981. There are around 4055 small-scale industries in Kamrup district

out of which 2647 are located in Guwahati as per data available with Directorate

of Industries.

The major types of industries in Guwahati include Chemicals and Fertilizers,

Engineering Industries, Petroleum and Refineries, and Agro Based Industries.

There are six Industrial estates located in GMA. The first Industrial Estate in

Assam was established in the early 2nd five year Plan (1957-62) at

Bamunimaidam, Guwahati. Industrial estates were developed to check the

haphazard growth of industries. Besides these estates tabulated as under,

industrial estates are being developed at Rani and Amingaon. In addition to

these industrial estates, there are numerous small-scale estates as well.

Table 12 : Industrial Estates in GMA

Vacant Name of the

Industrial

Estate/Industrial area

Total land

of the area

(ha)

Total nos.

of shed

Total no of

open spaces Shed Open

Space

Industrial Estate,

Bamunimaidam

7.6 62 43 - -

Industrial area,

Kalapahar

1.4 13 13 - -

Mini industrial Estate,

Kalapahar

1.2 29 7 - -

Industrial area, Bonda Plot 22 21 22 plots - -

Industrial area,

Bamunimaidam

Plot 27 41 27 plots Nil 6

EPIP, Amingaon 27.55 4 38 plots Nil 27,932

sq.m.

Source : Master Plan Guwahati

30

Table 13 : Development of Industrial estates in Guwahati (2001-02)

Table 14 : Commercial Estates in GMA

4.3 Key Industries

Petroleum and Refineries Assam is the third largest producer of petroleum (crude) and natural gas in India.

Petroleum and natural gas productions are nearly 16% and 8% respectively of

the total production in the country. In 1999, production of crude oil was 5001

thousand MT, and of natural gas was 1333 million cubic meters. The first

commercial discovery of crude oil in the country was made in 1889 at Digboi near

Brahmaputra valley in Assam. At present the following refineries and company's

engaged in Petroleum and Petro- Chemicals in Guwahati are:

Indian Oil Corporation, Noonmati Refinery

India Carbon (CPC Plant)

Particulars Number

Total number of sheds constructed 60

Total number of sheds allotted 60

Number of unit 45

Total sheds occupied 60

Total sheds functioning 45

Source: Statistical Handbook Assam 2002, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Govt., of Assam

Sl No

Name Total area (Acre)

Total no of sheds

Open space allotted

Sheds under

occupation

Open space under

occupation 1 Commercial Estate

(North Guwahati) 3.3 10 5 nos 10 5

2 Commercial Estate North Guwahati

1.4 14 Nil 14 Nil

3 Industrial Area, CITI Complex, Kalapahar

3.3 8 2 8 2

Source : Master Plan Guwahati

31

Tea Industry

Assam is the world's single largest tea growing region, producing more than

1,500,000 pounds of tea annually. Assam has a first flush and a second flush

tea. The first flush tea has a rich and fresh aroma, while the second flush

produces the famous tippy tea (with a golden colour leaf). The golden tip present

in Assam tea makes it sweet and smooth and is very popular throughout the

World. Due to the rainfall of 100-150 inches per year in this region tea plantation

is said to be favourable.

Forest and Wood Industry

Plywood, pulp and paper, safety match box making etc are the main forest based

industries in the state. Plywood industry is the third largest industry in the state

after tea and petroleum. The state forest is the source of raw material for above

industries

Handloom and Handicraft Industries.

The State of Assam is traditionally known for its rich Handloom and Handicraft

products and their promotion is undertaken by the State Government through

various schemes. The state government has also provided various financial and

technical assistance to assist in the growth of this industry.

Type of

units

Number

of units

Number

of

artisans

Household 29,816 97,363

Non

Household 544 3,119

Total 30,360 1,00,482

Rural

areas 28,103 92,665

Urban

areas 2,257 7,817

Guwahati has a

major Tea Auction

House and major

transaction takes

place through

auction houses

32

Information Technology

Information Technology (IT) occupies a key position in our modern age and is

one of the fastest growing sectors in the world economy. Applications of IT have

become pervasive, covering all spheres of life. Keeping the importance of

Information Technology in mind Government of Assam has taken some

initiatives, which are listed below:

To accord primacy for the growth of I.T industry for the purpose of

socio-economic development of the State.

To accelerate the use of Information Technology industry at the

governmental level with the view to provide better services to the

citizens of the state;

To improve productivity and efficiency of the Government services to

the citizens of the state.

To serve as an important tool to enhance employability as well

absorb a major portion of the educated employed in the state;

To enable the state to reach an eminent position in the IT sector.

To encourage and accelerate the growth of both the domestic and

the export oriented I.T units in the state and make the state an

attractive destination for I.T investment within India and abroad.

To encourage and accelerate the use of Information Technology in

schools, colleges and educational institutions in the state to enable

the youth to acquire necessary skills and knowledge in this sector

making them highly employable.

To set up training institutes in the private sector and the joint sector

in order to prepare skilled manpower within the existing system;

To organize Manpower Development Training in the field of

Computer Applications for the successful implementation of the

Information Technology Policy of Assam.

To develop appropriate networks between various departments and

different spatially spread out administrative hierarchies through well-

designed database management systems.

To encourage the spread of IT in the private sector

Given the high literacy rate of the city and also being the center of education and

excellence for the entire North Eastern region, Guwahati can be developed as a

center for ITES sector for the region.

33

Trade & Commerce

The Commercial establishment of Guwahati is divided into four categories

namely Wholesale, Wholesale Cum Retail, Retail Shop and Service Shops.

There is an absence of centralized market complex due to which, shops have

been established in an unplanned manner across the city. The main wholesale

market of Guwahati is situated at located at Machkhowa and Fancy Bazaar

areas. These areas being in the heart of the city, occupy valuable space, which

otherwise could have been more productively used. Importantly, these markets

lack basic amenities like water supply and solid waste management, leading to

unhealthy atmosphere for trading. However, the single most important fall out of

the presence of these markets relates to traffic congestion on the main interior

roads of the city, which passes through these areas. Commercial vehicles

involved in loading and unloading of goods, occupy a major portion of these

roads leading to tremendous traffic congestion throughout the day. The markets

lack adequate infrastructure facilities. The description of the markets situated in

Guwahati is given in the table below.

Table 15: Description of the markets Situated in Guwahati.

Sl

No Name & type Location

1 Wholesale markets of food-grains and

perishable items Fancy Bazaar & Machkhowa areas

2 Hardware and Building materials

(Wholesale and retail)

Fancy Bazaar and Athgaon

A.T. Road from Fire Station in

ASTC to Athgaon Railway crossing

3 Motor Parts

(Wholesale-cum-retail)

A.T. Road (from Paltan Bazaar

to Bharalumukh);

Beltola (from Khanapara junction

to Tetelia junction)

4 Coal Market Along NH-37 from Khanapara

junction to Biharibari junction

5 Timber market Mainly in Maligaon and Rehabari

areas

6 Wholesale fish market Near Paltan Bazaar area on the

backside of Meghdoot cinema

7 Wholesale Cloth Market Fancy Bazaar Area

34

4.4 Informal Sector Activities

The major informal sector trade and services are scattered in the major work and

commercial centres along the GS Road, Kamrup Chamber Road, M S Road, J N

Road, Kamar Patty, Fancy bazaar, Dewan road, SRCB Road, T R Phukan Road,

and can be found in almost all areas of the city.

The informal sector units locate themselves strategically near work centres,

commercial areas, outside the boundaries of schools, colleges and hospitals,

transport modes and near large housing clusters. In view of this, it is proposed to

incorporate the informal sector in trade in the planned development of various

zones:

Norms for the provision of the informal sector activities:

1

Retail Trade: Central Business District

Sub-Central Business District Zonal Commercial Centre

Community Centre Convenience Shopping Centre

3 to 4 units per 10 formal shops as specified in the

norms separately

2 Government and Commercial offices 5 to 6 units per 1000

employees

3 Wholesale trade and freight complexes 3 to 4 units per 10 formal

shops

4 Hospital 3 to 4 units per 100 beds

5 Bus terminal 1 units per two bus bays

6 Schools: Primary

Secondary/ Senior Secondary/Integrated

3-4 units 5-6 units

7 Parks:

Regional / District Parks Neighborhood Parks

8 to 10 units at each major

entry 2-3 units

8 Residential 1 unit/1000 population

9 Industrial 5-6 units/1000 employees

10 Railway terminus To be based on surveys at the

time of preparation of the project

The above norms are taken from the UDPFI guidelines:

The areas where informal sector is located should have suitable public

conveniences and solid waste disposal system. In all land development projects

certain minimum area should be reserved for informal sector activities.

35

5. Profile of Urban Local Bodies

5.1 Background

The constitution (74th Amendment) Act 1992 has redefined the role,

power, function and finances of the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) wherein

the Twelfth Schedule of the constitution lists additional function to be

carried out by ULBs. This would result in a substantial increase in the

responsibilities of the Urban Local Bodies, which would in turn lead to a

significant increase in expenditure incurred by the ULBs with a

corresponding increase in requirement of funds.

Over a period of time, the ULBs will have to be self-sufficient and

therefore generate additional revenues from own sources to meet the

above additional requirements. At present, the expenditure on services

provided exceeds that of revenues earned and with growing urbanization

and subsequent increase in demand, the gap will only be widened

further.

The rapid growth of urban population has led to ever increasing demand

on urban service. This will necessitate substantial investment in

infrastructure and extensive capacity building of the local bodies.

Traditional public funding of projects need replacement by governance

through creditworthiness to access capital market and leverage private

finance. This will need the balance sheet of the corporation to be healthy.

Urban Reform Incentive Fund (URIF) has laid down levy of reasonable

user charges by ULBs with the objective of recovering full cost of

operation and maintenance by the end of 10th Five Year Plan. Further 85

% collection efficiency needs to be achieved as a Property Tax Reform

Measure.

5.2 Introduction to Guwahati Municipal Corporation The Guwahati Municipal Corporation was constituted in 1974 under the

provisions of the Guwahati Municipal Corporation Act, 1971. The Corporation

covers an area of 216 sq k.m. The Corporation has a council of 60 elected ward

36

councilors. The council is headed by a Mayor and the Commissioner is the

executive head of the corporation.

The corporations activities are as follows:

Conservancy

Water works tax division

Public Works

Building Permission

Streetlight and Electrical Section

Municipal Markets

Sanitation &Health

Dead body and night soil removal Branch

Poverty alleviation

Birth and death registration

Garage Branch

Accounts Branch

Table 17 : Basic Data related to Guwahati Municipal Corporation

GMC area 216 sq Kms

Wards 60

Employees 2750

Revenue zones 4

Public works division 5

Public work zones 23

Primary schools 5

High schools 1

Parks 12

Municipal markets 11

Holdings 1,00,000

GMC roads 1919 (511.5Kms)

Water treatment plants 3

Production of water 80 MLD

Water pipe length 425 Km(approx)

Veterinary

Enforcement

Property Tax

Mutation Branch

Trade License

Advertisement

Slow Moving Vehicle

37

5.3 Financial Profile Guwahati Municipal Corporation Table 18: Financial Position of GMC for the last three years * Rs lacs Particulars 2001 02 2002 03 2003 04 Amount %of

total Amount %growth Amount %growth

Revenue Receipts:

2859.16 100 3793.00 32.66 3067.96 (19.12)

Own source: 2160.19 75.55 2682.36 24.17 2111.63 (21.28)

Govt & other revenue grants:

698.97

24.45

1110.64

58.90

956.33

(13.90)

Revenue Expenditure

2490.58 100 2697.55 8.31 2967.89 10.02

Revenue surplus/def

368.58

100

1095.45

197.21

100.07

(90.86)

Revenue surplus/def

excl grants **

(330.39)

(15.19)

(856.26)

* Based on actual accounts. ** Deficit excludes grant and is financed by Govt. grant Figures for 2004-05 has been provided under Financial Operating Plan Break up of revenue receipt of 2004-05

Actual for 2004-05

Property tax 908.51

Urban immovable property tax 84.82

Fixed deposit with bank 0

Taxes on drought animal & non-mech Vehicle 31.14

Other taxes 458.13

Discretionary tax u/s 144(2) 48.69

Assign taxes from govt u/s 184 702

Sub Total I 2233.29

Grant in aid from govt 853.36

Duty on transfer of property u/s 170 266.78

Realisation of fees under special act & rules 55.04

Sale of water 26.15

Application fees 54.89

Interest on loan & advance 0

Market & slaughter house 116.53

Other fees 127.58

Sub Total II 1500.33

Grand Total 3733.62

38

Fig 9 : Gap between Revenue Income and Expenditure

Graph showing the gap between Revenue income

& Revenue expenditure

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

2001-02 2002 - 03 2003 - 04 2004 - 05

Year

Income & expenditure

Revenue income

Revenue Expenditure

Table 19 : Financial Profile of Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority Particulars 2001 02 2002 03 2003 04 2004 - 05

Amount %of total

Amount %growth Amount %growth Amount %growth

Revenue Receipts:

956.00 100 201.05 (79%) 275.00 36.78% 293.50 6.73%

Own source: 516 53.97 201.05 (61%) 275.00 36.78% 293.50 6.73%

Govt & other revenue grants:

440

46.03

0

(100%)

0

0

Revenue Expenditure

2173.87 100 148.91 (93.15%) 210.97 41.68% 249.47 18.25%

Establishment expenses:

2156.6 99.20 135.78 (93.70%) 81.87 (39.70%) 97.98 19.68%

Operation & Maintenance

10.63 0.49 6.21 (41.58%) 114.69 1746% 61.42

(46.45%)

Others 6.64 0.31 6.92 4.22% 14.41 108.24% 0 (100%)

Revenue surplus / deficit

(1217.87)

52.14

104.28% 64.03 22.80% 44.02 (31.25%)

Revenue surplus / deficit

excluding grants

(1657.87)

Nil

NIL

39

5.4 Summary of Key Observations

It maybe noted from the table 19 that GMC has been suffering heavy losses and

over the years has primarily been dependent on Government Grant for its

survival.

As can be observed from the above Graph, the major financial setback and

consequent revenue gap for GMC was in the year 2003-04, when the revenue

receipts went down sharply. This was primarily due to withdrawal of toll tax,

which contributed as much as 33% of the revenue earnings of the corporation.

A simple analysis of the expenditure would reveal that the establishment

expenditure for 2004-05 itself is 1.3 times the revenue.

Sources of Revenue

The major revenue income for GMC is Property Tax, which comprises of general

tax, water tax, scavenging tax, light tax and urban tax. At present there are over

1,00,000 assessed holdings and 40,000 water connections to different holdings.

Other revenue sources are as follows:

Trade license fee Entry toll

Parking fees Toll and rent from municipal markets

Tax on advertisements Tax on slow moving vehicles

Animal tax Building permission fees and penalties Water connection charge

Fines Share of motor vehicle tax

Share of entertainment tax Share of land revenue and surcharge on stamp duty

One of the key factors affecting the financial health of GMC is the extremely low

recovery of the cost of services being rendered by the corporation. For example,

as per GOI Report in 2003, the average cost per connection on account of water

generation and distribution is Rs 9 against a cost recovery of only Rs. 3 per

connection reflecting a collection level of only 33%.

40

The position on the various taxes collected by GMC is as given below :

S. No Taxes Status 1 Taxes on Land and Buildings

2 Octroi D

3 Stamp duty

4 Tax on Professions M

5 Tax on Vehicle

6 Tax on Animals

7 Tax on Dogs D

8 Show Tax M

9 Toll Tax D

10 Tax on Boats/ Ferries D

11 Tax on Electricity -

12 Pilgrimage Fee D

13 Drainage Fee D

14 Lighting Fee -

15 Scavenging Fee -

16 Latrine Fee -

17 Fee on service -

18 Tax on Servants -

19 Tax on Building Applications -

20 Tax on Advertisement

21 Fee on License -

22 Parking Fee

23 Water tax

24 Tax on Private markets -

25 Fee on Fire Brigade -

26 Fee on Health Services -

27 Betterment tax D

Source: Primary Analysis of Municipal Taxes and Account; D= Discretionary/M= Mandatory/

= Taxes are levied by local bodies

5.5 Action Plans GMC fully recognizes the importance of the above developments and is

committed to take urgent steps in this regard.

GMC shall strive to bring about efficiency in its services and implement

time bound programmes and initiatives for increasing its revenue base.

Additionally, a package of measures shall be implemented to make the

Corporations self-sustainable. It may however be mentioned that while

these packages will improve the future financial position of the

corporations substantially, introduction of a one time bail out package is

41

required to wipe out the legacies of the past. In view of the same, a one-

time funding to the tune of Rupees 30 Crores is proposed to strengthen the

capability of the corporation to operate projects in a sustainable manner.

In order to strengthen the revenue streams, a package of measures are

proposed to be implemented. The key interventions are as follows:

E- Governance to be implemented and computerisation of entire systems

and records;

Levy of Surcharge on holdings totally/ partially used for commercial

purpose;

Initiation of detailed survey to identify un assessed and under assessed

properties;

Strengthening of Assessment Department with adequate staffing;

Lobbying with the State Government and Central Government (through

the State Government) for settlement and subsequent regular payment

of Tax dues by Central and State Government agencies;

Leverage on Idle Assets;

Restructuring and Revaluation of Balance Sheet;

Valuation of assets under the corporation

Levy of reasonable tariffs and Intense Recovery;

Increase Water Connections;

A graded approach to revisions may have to be worked out so that cost

recoveries increase over time

Change over the basis of property tax from annual rental value to Area

based system.

A system of tax assessment, reassessment, systems for serving demand

notice, collection, developing information base to be developed

Valuation of assets under the corporation and also strengthening of

Balance Sheet

Encouraging public private partnerships with part/full cost recovery

principle, project structuring support for parking, terminals and solid

waste management needed to be provided

Reforming property tax system to firstly ensure total coverage of

properties in the city

Shift from single entry system to double entry accrual based system

Training and capacity building measures in area of debt financing.

42

Periodic monitoring of funds, their sanctions and disbursement.

Institutional reforms

Establish clarity of roles and responsibilities

Collective action, specially in programmes for solid waste management,

water resource management and slum up-gradation

5.6 Funding for Capacity Building & Clearing past legacies

In order to make the Financials of GMC viable in the long run, there is a

requirement of Financial & Operating Restructuring. While the Municipality is

taking steps to improve on the operating parameters, there is a need for an

integrated programme comprising of Capacity Building Measures and clearing

past legacies.

This is a critical step to ensure that one of the long-term goals of JNURM viz

ensuring financial sustainability is met. In view of this the following programme is

proposed for implementation under this plan.

Capacity Building Programme scheme

Projects Cost (Rs crore)

Capacity Building Programme & Clearing

Past Legacies

30

Total 30

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6. Situation Appraisal

In order to develop an overall vision for the region as well as to develop sector

wise vision it is necessary to carry out a broad appraisal of the existing situation.

Accordingly a situation appraisal is carried out and broad results are as follows.

Sectors:

1 Environment

2 Tourism

3 Water

4 Housing

5 Transportation

6 Drainage & Storm Water

7 Sanitation

8 Basic Services to Poor

9 Solid Waste Management

10 Water front Development

11 Urban Renewal Program

6.1 Environment

River Brahmaputra generally has low pollution level. However, the River has

been contaminated with bacterial pollution due to the discharge of raw sewage

directly into the river without any treatment. Additionally,

there is a backflow from the river during the flooding

season in Guwahati. Within the city, the Bharalu

Channel, cris-crossing a vast expanse of the GMA,

discharges flow of rain water to River Brahmaputra.

A major portion of the municipal waste, refinery waste

water flowing from the Indian Oil Corporation Refinery at

Noonmati, flows through the drain directly to River

Bharalu. The waste water from the households, commercial and business

establishments, small and medium industries within the city also flow into the

Bharalu through the system of mutually interdependent drains.

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High turbidity of water also indicates transportation of soil and other particulate

refuse from the municipal drains. Bacteriologically the Bharalu Channel water is

found to be extremely unsuitable having serious faecal contamination primarily

due to improper sanitary systems and habits, unscientific and unplanned sewage

disposal and utterly unhygenic way of effluent disposal through septic-tanks.

The down stream of Bharalu is not wide enough to handle large flow of water.

Land cutting and soil erosion have also created heavy siltation on the riverbed

thereby aggravating the already precarious situation. Deepar Beel, an important

water body of the region, receives a fair amount of waste water from different

parts of the city. The inflow of the Bharalu river is the main controlling factor of

the water quality of this water body. Pressure of urbanisation and pollution have

had the negative impact on its stability.

Overall wetland degeneration has emerged as a major problem in the region

caused by encroachment, natural siltation, earth filling and garbage dumping.

The list of major waterbodies are enclosed below:

Bharalu Basin: Bharalu River being the most flood prone area and it is the

core of the drainage system with a catchment area of 42 sq.km. During

heavy rainfall there is a black flow of water.

Deepar Basin: Single largest drainage basin, covering an area of 20135

hectares and is divided into two sub-basins: Bijubari and Dipur sub-basin

Borsola Basin: This is another major natural drainage system of the city.

The Basin is located towards the Southern part of the City.

Silsako Basin: Silsako basin covers 6534 hectares in the east of Guwahati

and is connected with Brahmaputra through a stream called Bonda Jan.

Foreshore Basin: The catchment areas of this basin include certain

residential, commercial, institutional and business areas in Guwahati.

North Guwahati Basin: It has mostly hill ranges comprising north and

western boundary of the city covering a total area of 32.3 sq km

Kalmoni Basin: The total area occupied by the basin is 66.5 sq km. River

Kalmoni finds its way into the River Brahmaputra through Dipar Beel and the

Khona Jan and partly through Thengbhanga and the Khalbhog river.

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6.1.1 Disaster Management River Brahamaputra is the main cause of floods due to heavy rainfall to high

intensity rainfall in Guwahati Metropolitan Area. Highly flowing and meandering

course of Brahamaputra obstruct the normal charge of water and thus the

velocity is reduced which delays the passage of water resulting in stagnation of

water.

The flood water from Brahamaputra, into the region was naturally accommodated

in the low lying areas on both sides of the main channel before the construction

of Town Protection Embankments and extensive encroachments of human

settlements but the appearance of these activities has aggravated the dimension

of flood because of marked reduction in the water accommodating capacity of the

channel. A glaring example of such embankment is the siltation of riverbed and

its consequences in creating flood during the rainy season leaving major

damages to the adjoining areas of the river.

However, the other extreme events causing the disaster are rare except the

earthquake, which visits the zone frequently with low intensity and rarely causes

disasters except the disastrous earthquake of 1950. The entire state of Assam

has been identified as Seismic Zone V by the Government of India.

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NATURAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT AND REDUCTION

With regard to Guwahati, it can be stressed that floods and landslides cause

colossal loss to human life and property and its management takes the center-

stage in this part of the country. In fact, flood is an attribute of physical

environment but it is important to note that floods are also aggravated by human

activity like deforestation in the catchments areas. Since the floods of rivers are

the responses of both natural and anthropogenic factors, the causes of floods of

the alluvial rivers become highly complexed and their relative importance varies

from place to place. Anthropogenic activities such as building activity and

eventual urbanization, channel manipulation through diversion of river course,

construction of bridges, barrages and reservoirs, agricultural practices,

deforestation, land use changes invite hazards in the river system viz. disastrous

floods, landslides and slumping along the banks, massive erosion along the river

banks, siltation of riverbed, deposition of sands and clays in flood plains etc.

which pose a serious threat to human society and necessitate river regulation

and flood control.

This is applicable to the Brahamaputra river system although, heavy rainfall is the

root cause of floods due to immense volume of water through high intensity

rainfall. Highly sinuous and meandering course of Brahamaputra obstruct the

normal charge of water and thus the velocity is reduced which delays the

passage of water resulting in stagnation of water. Large-scale deforestation in

upper catchments is perhaps the most important anthropogenic factor of the

cause of flood and landslides in the Guwahati. Large scale deforestation effected

by man for various purposes such as for expansion of agricultural lands, for

supply of raw materials to the factories, for domestic uses as firewood, timber

wood, for commercial purposes etc. has decreased the infiltration capacity of the

forestland and consequently increased surface runoff which is helping

tremendously in increasing the magnitude of recurrent floods in the plains and

landslides in the hilly terrains of Guwahati. It may be pointed out that dense

vegetation allows maximum infiltration of rainwater into the ground because

raindrops are intercepted by forest canopy and thus reach the ground slowly in

the form of Aerial Streamlets through the leaves, branches and stems of trees

and hence infiltrates easily into the spongy soil layer formed by the leaf litters. On

the other hand, in the absence of forest and other vegetation covers, raindrops

47

strike the ground surface directly and in case of heavy downpour the rainfall

exceeds the limits of infiltration soon and thus maximum runoff is generated

which reaches the rivers through rills, rivulets and streams and causes the

floods.

Increased surface runoff also accelerates the rate of soil erosion and landslides

thus increasing the sediment load of the river. This processes result in gradual

rise in the riverbed and reduce the water accommodating capacity of the river. All

these chain effects of deforestation and related increased surface runoff,

increased soil erosion and landslides and decreased cross sectional areas of the

valley has not only caused floods but also has increased the magnitude and

dimension of floods in the North-East.

Increasing urbanization has also helped in increasing the surface runoff and

therefore dimensions and magnitude of floods because extension in the pucca

ground cover through the constructions of building, courtyards, roads, pavements

etc. reduces infiltration of rainwater significantly and increases surface runoff,

increase the volume and discharge of urban drains to the river.

Flood control measures include a series of steps to tame the menacing river such

as to delay the return of runoff resulting from torrential rainfall to the river to

hasten the discharge of water as sinuous and meandering river retard the quick

disposal of water to divert the flow of water to low-lying areas or artificially

constructed channels bordered by artificial dykes to reduce the volume of water

through a series of engineering devices such as construction of flood control

storage reservoirs to reduce the impact of floods through the embankments,

flood walls etc. to forewarn the occurrence of floods through the central flood

control boards and state flood control boards .

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6.2 Tourism

Guwahati has several places of historical interest with the biggest attraction

being the Kamakhya Temple. The city is donned with several places of religious

and tourist attractions such as Umananda Temple situated on an island in the

middle of the river Brahmaputra, which incidentally is also the smallest inhabited

river island in the world. In addition to the religious sites, there are splendid water

fronts and water bodies, which could be developed as places of tourist attraction.

Guwahatis positioning in the tourism map of Assam and perhaps the NE region

is due to the fact that the city is well connected to the places of tourist interest by

road, rail and air. Most of the tourist routes in the region touches upon Guwahati

and hence is considered to be a hub for tourist movement within the region.

Different action plans facilitating package touring of Guwahati and the

neighboring Capital cities like Shillong, Imphal, Kohima and other places in

Arunachal Pradesh etc would also enhance the Touring culture. River cruises to

Kaziranga sanctuary, Majuli Island and other places of tourist interest can be

developed to encourage tourism in this region.

From a long-term perspective, to encourage tourism, there is a need to prepare

an Integrated Tourism Plan and will include measures to develop tourist spots

holistically coupled with enhanced connectivity. Steps need to be taken to market

Tourist Destinations besides developing and publicizing Tourism Products.

Despite donning an important place in the tourism map of the region, the citys

infrastructure relating to tourist amenities is at best far less than adequate and at

worst appalling. There is an absence of quality accommodation in the city and

there is a general lack of enthusiasm to cater to this growing tourism segment.

Some of the observations in this regard are as follows:

Gateway to the northeast but no 5-star hotel facility

Tremendous demand for quality accommodations and facilities

Look east policy of the centre forging stronger business ties with ASEAN countries bringing a boom in corporate traffic.

Northeast being positioned as paradise unexplored would promote tourism.

Paucity of high-end accommodations

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6.3 Water

6.3.1 Sources of water & Sustainability Main source of Raw Water for the region is surface water drawn from the River

Brahmaputra and its tributary Bahini, coming down from K&J hills. The water

level of the river Brahmaputra varies around 10 meter between winter and

monsoon period. During monsoon, the water level of the river goes higher than

G.L of the city and stays so for more than 30 days. The average discharge of

the River at Saraighat Bridge is 4500 m3/sec and flows nearly full for most part of

the year.

A limited amount of water is also drawn from open water bodies like Deepar Beel

and other beels. There has been very little exploitation of ground water over the

years and the possibility of availability of ground water is uncertain because of

substantial presence of hard rock in the region. However, a comprehensive study

on ground water availability and potential is called for. The Brahmaputra has low

organic pollution, and mineral contents are more or less optimum along the

stretch covering the city of Guwahati.

Water Treatment Facilities

The city of Guwahati has witnessed a rapid growth in population particularly

during the last one and half decades. As a result, there is tremendous pressure

on natural sources like groundwater.

It is striking that in spite of being water-rich, access to water is restricted to only

30% of population. The total installed capacity of potable water generation under

GMC area is around 20 MGD, considering the capacities of treatment plants

located at Panbazar, Satpukhuri, Kamakhya and Hengerabari although the total

water treated is far less

It may be mentioned that many of the above facilities are running well blow

capacity and requires urgent investments. The Panbazar water treatment plant in

particular has expired its design life, is in a poor state and requires renovation

and augmentation. Overall it is estimated that these plants are running at a

capacity of around 50%. The transmission loss is also estimated to be very high

at around 40% by the authorities.

Main source of Raw Water for the region is surface water drawn from the River Brahmaputra and its tributary Bahini, coming down from K&J hills. The water level of the river Brahmaputra varies around 10 meter between winter and monsoon period.

The water supply to the city is

provided by multiple

organizations viz. Assam

Urban Water Supply &

Sewerage Board (AUWSSB),

Guwahati Municipal

Corporation (GMC) and

Public Health Engineering.

Railways, Refineries, Defence

Authorities and Other

Government agencies

50

The water supply to the city is provided by multiple organizations viz. Assam

Urban Water Supply & Sewerage Board (AUWSSB), Guwahati Municipal

Corporation (GMC) and Public Health Engineering. Railways, Refineries,

Defence Authorities and Other Government agencies maintain there own plants

but these plants do not cater to the requirements of the general public. In North

Guwahati, there exists independent water treatment facilities at E.P.I.P

Amingaon complex and also another one plant recently constructed inside I.I.T,

Guwahati. A private agency has constructed a small water treatment plant behind

Brahmaputra Hotel, having a small compact plant capacity of 2 lakh ltrs/hr and

running for 18 hr per day (capacity 3.6 MLD). It is supplied through specially built

3-wheeler water tankers. This water has become very popular in Guwahati

nowadays.

Table 24 : Present status of water treatment plant

Name Installed Capacity

Year of Installation Area Covered

Hengerabari Water Treatment Plant 2.77 1996

Ward no 5 (100%), Ward no. 4 (Partly)

Panbazar Water Treatment Plant 9.89 1960 20 Ward (100%),

Satpukhri Water Treatment Plant 4.99 1985 3 Ward (75%),

Kamakhya Water Treatment Plant 1 1992

Ward no. 7 and Kamakhya Temple campus,

Panbazar Water Treatment Plant(PHED) 2.5 1996

Maligaon, Nambari, and Pandu (only Railway staff quarter)

Some factors that have contributed to this unsatisfactory situation are as follows:

Rapid growth in population and water demand (and in some areas,

shortage of water)

Inadequate water charges and billing/collection mechanisms, leading to

insufficient revenues to repair, maintain, and replace infrastructure

Intermittent and poor quality of electricity supply

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Inadequate human resource development, including training in modern

utility operations; and

Inadequate demand-responsiveness and customer-orientation among

service providers.

With the projected growth in population, water is expected to become

substantially scarce, unless adequate investment is made in building up of

capacity. Based on the projected growth of population the following graph

indicates the growing requirement of drinking water supply in the city.

Fig 13 : Projected Demand For Household Consumption

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

1991 2001 2005 2011 2021 2031 2041year

mgd

demand

It may be noted from the above is that the water requirement in 2021 for catering

to the population is to the tune of 80 MGD which has been calculated, based on

the average requirement @ 135 lpcd as per CPHEEO norms and it also taken

into account the substantial floating population which will call for additional

requirement of water. It is also important to note that as per present norms, water

treatment plants are required to cater to 20 years. Considering that virtually the

entire present capacity shall expire the design life in the near future, adequate

planning needs to be done to build up new capacity.

It may be mentioned here that the water supplied to the general public is much

lower than the 150 lpcd recommended by the Ministry of Urban Development,

Government of India. Moreover the duration of daily supply is as low as 3 hours

from 6am to 9am. Irregular supply is prevalent even though the city has sufficient

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water resources to provide a continuously pressurized

CDP Guwahati

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