A green lung in the heart of Guwahati

The proposed move of the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) to develop a botanical garden at old Guwahati Jail land in the Fancy Bazaar area of the city is laudable. The unplanned growth of Guwahati has resulted in the vanishing of lung spaces in the city leaving the city residents gasping for fresh air. The development of green space in the heart of the busy congested commercial hub has triggered hopes for getting some respite from the problem of falling air quality levels in the city. Decongesting the roads to the proposed botanical garden will be critical to visitors deriving optimal and desired benefits. The proposal to develop the botanical garden and a central park at the designated location was mooted in 2016 but planning and fund mobilisation was holding it back. The GMDA floating a tender inviting bid for the development of the botanical garden for an estimated cost of Rs 31 crore has set the ball rolling. The sprawling space of 56 bighas (7.5 hectares) is lying vacant ever since the Guwahati Central Jail was shifted to the new location at Sarusajai in 2012. Currently, a 114-hectare area of the city is under park and playgrounds. The development of the proposed garden is expected to generate awareness among the city residents on the importance of preserving and developing more lung spaces. The replacement of old Assam type houses with multi-storeyed apartments and buildings is a reflection of the city growing vertically for the dearth of space to grow horizontally. The greenery of Guwahati also depleting at the same pace, however, has sounded the alarm bell on the long term sustainability of the city. The Master Plan for Guwahati metropolitan area has projected the estimated number of tourist arrival by 2025 in the city at 46 lakhs. Even though for a large section of them it will be transit to other iconic destinations in the state and elsewhere in neighbouring states, one can imagine the multi-fold rise in the pressure on roads due to a proportionate number of vehicles to be added to cater to tourist flow. Historical and religious sites apart, the scenic beauty of the river Brahmaputra and the beautiful landscape of surrounding hills full of greenery attract a large number of tourists to the city as a destination of their choice. The development of the proposed garden close to the river Brahmaputra will be an added attraction for a large number of tourists. Planning for the park considering this factor apart from meeting the requirement of city residents for breathing fresh air will have to be prioritised. Improving the public transport system is critical to reducing the number of private vehicles on roads. If the rapid rise in the number of private vehicles used for daily commuting cannot be checked then even the development of the botanical garden in the heart of the city will not be able to make much difference to the air quality index. Lessons must be learnt from the thick layer of smog covering Delhi due to rising vehicular pollution and stubble burning in neighbouring states even after the city has metro rails and a larger public transport system. Guwahati will face a worse situation if the city planners and policymakers, as well as the residents as the key stakeholders, fail to foresee it and ignore these lessons. The State government promoting electric vehicle (EV) among the city residents to take advantage of the Assam Electric Vehicle Policy 2021 to replace their internal combustion engine vehicles with EV and public and private transport of the city replaced with a fleet of EV will complement the GMDA efforts to crate lung spaces like the proposed botanical garden. Guwahati Municipal Corporation and GMDA enforcing building bye-laws of mandatory plantation of trees in multi-storeyed apartment complexes have also become an urgent necessity to deal with the problem of carbon emission in the expanding city. Educational and other public institutions, government and private offices, hospitals planting more trees will go a long way in reducing the pollution level. Conservation of the existing wetlands of the city such as Deepor Beel, Silsako, Borsola and Sarusola beels form an essential component of the master plan as well as a smart city plan. The largest lung space in the heart of the city is the Assam State Zoo spread over an area of 130 hectares with a botanical garden covering an area of 82 hectares. Roping in botanists, wildlife biologists, environmental experts in the execution of the proposed botanical garden will help GMDA identify the right plants that are suitable to grow in an urban landscape. Transparency in the project is critical to create the buzzword and motivate the city residents to undertake green initiatives that will lead to the creation of more lung spaces. Making Guwahati pollution-free, decongested, equipped with green mobility apart from more lunch spaces will make it liveable and sustainable.