Guwahati, which is said to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the subcontinent, also happens to be one of the five most beautiful cities in the country. It is difficult to find another city in the entire world that has so many beautiful hills and beautiful wetlands, not to mention the mighty Red River, the Brahmaputra, all of which keep tourists and visitors to the Assam capital captivated and mesmerised. While these happen to be invaluable gifts of nature, given the growing importance of Guwahati as a regional hub and India’s neighbourhood in Southeast Asia, the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority has in the recent past launched a massive project intended to beautify the capital city. But, as reported by this newspaper on Sunday, lack of coordination among different departments of the state government has led to delays in the execution of the same. Efficient and scientific garbage disposal, particularly keeping in mind the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, of which India is an important signatory, has remained a far cry in Guwahati. Though the actual monsoon season is yet to begin, the city has already witnessed water logging in several localities, and overflow of drains and streams has already occurred even during the spring showers of April and May. There have been reports in the media about the Brahmaputra riverfront development project under Guwahati Smart City lagging behind in terms of meeting the set deadline. About the completion of the water supply network for the entire city, the less said, the better. One recent trend that has disturbed citizens is the massive felling of trees in the city in order to facilitate the widening of roads and the construction of flyovers. Guwahati does need development, especially of its road network. But then, felling trees without making compensatory plantations is not the right thing to do. Tree-felling has been so massive in recent years that residents of Guwahati can no longer see the flowering of the sonaru, radhachura, and krishnachura—three flowers that once converted the hills and roadsides of Guwahati into amazing canvases of red, yellow, and pink. In contrast, there is now a trend of using synthetic paints to beautify the city’s walls and flyovers, which is outright an artificial activity involving the use of chemical pollutants.