Guwahati fares badly on civic front: Survey

GUWAHATI, March 17: Poor score in Bangaluru-based Jaagraha’s yardstick leaves Guwahatians feeling the city they live in being below par – falling far short of what is expected from a city vying for a berth as a smart city in the country.

In the Bangaluru-based non-profit organization’s annual survey of India’s city-system (urbanization survey), Guwahati fared poorly – scoring just 3.8 out of 10. The findings of the survey are – recurring floods, waste magement, fire accidents, building collapse, outbreak of dengue, air and water pollution, symptoms of deeper government crises, condition of footpaths, lack of transparency in fince and operations of city, poor human resources, drawbacks in public utility services, etc.  The survey has found several idequacies in government affecting public service delivery in the city. The city has been ranked 14th among 23 cities of the country taken up in the survey. 

Meanwhile, the GMC has questioned the parameters of the survey. Talking to this reporter, a source in the civic body said: “We aren’t aware of the survey – in the first place. We’re kept totally in dark of the survey and the very parameters taken up in it. We’re not happy with this survey. Waste disposal is one of the parameters of the survey. It’s as clear as daylight that the GMC is doing to good job on this front – collecting dry and wet garbage separately from door-to-door. The draige is another parameter in the survey. In Guwahati drains are cleared from time-to-time.”

On building collapse, the official said: “There’s no instance of building collapse in Guwahati. This is one of the parameters in the survey.” If the findings of the survey have anything to go by, Guwahati is lagging far behind among rest of the cities vying for the tag of smart cities. Will Guwahati get a spot as a smart city? To be on the safer side, it is better for those at the helm of affairs to do its best.