Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: All the four major services being rendered by the GMC (Guwahati Municipal Corporation) and other urban local bodies of Assam are below par, and the reasons behind such a dismal performance are lack of proper planning and funds, among others.
The four major services of urban civic bodies are supplying potable water, sewerage management, solid waste management and storm water management. And the civic bodies of Assam have drastically failed to meet the standards on all the four fronts. This is yet another headline which the urban civic bodies of the State are set to hit for wrong reasons.
If one takes the supply of potable water as a case study one can guess the standard of the service in Assam. The GMC supplies water to around 30,000 consumers with its 28 to 60-year-old machines and pipelines. The service is glaringly below par. With a view to rescuing the dwellers of the metropolitan city from such a miserable situation, three externally-aided mega water supply projects were started in the city. However, the ground reality remains that all the three mega projects continue to miss their respective targets.
According to the handbook of all India urban bodies, 135 litres of water has to be supplied to every person per day. Neither the GMC nor any other urban local body of the State can meet this standard. What catches everyone by surprise is that from 2013-18 the GMC lost 33 per cent water against the acceptable 20 per cent, leading to the loss of Rs 26 crore. The reasons for such a huge loss of water are the rickety old machines and the leaking and worn-out pipelines of the civic body. Only 35 of the 74 local urban bodies in Assam have been supplying potable water properly.
The solid waste management in the urban areas in the State has also been hackled in a typically haphazard manner. There is no proper planning for collection of garbage, leading to hoards of garbage lying on roadsides here and there. The worst kind of pollution happens when a portion of such garbage gets mixed with the drain water. The GMC can collect only 55 per cent of the total capacity of its garbage collection.
In its audit, the CAG did find irregularities in the functioning of urban local bodies. It suggested the State government to test the quality of water being supplied monthly, besides devising proper planning for uplifting the standards of services being rendered. It also suggested a cohesive coordination among the departments like the GDD (Guwahati Development Department), UDD (Urban Development Department), the PHED (Public Health Engineering Department) etc that are related to the civic bodies for smooth discharging of their respective duty. The CAG suggested measures for stopping the wastage of water, and introduction of the metre system in supplying piped water.